Active and Passive Vehicle Safety at Volkswagen Accident Research

Dipl.-Ing. Markus Jungmichel, Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg Dipl.-Ing. Michael Stanzel, Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg Dr. rer. nat. Robert Zobel, Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg

Abstract
Accident Analysis is an efficient means of improving vehicle passive safety and is used frequently and intensively. However, reliable data on accident causation is much more difficult to obtain. In most cases, one or more of the persons involved in an accident will face litigation and therefore are reluctant to provide the information that is essential to researchers. In addition, antilock brakes in almost every current vehicle have caused certain characteristic evidence, i.e. skid marks, to appear much less frequently than before. However, this evidence provides valuable information for assessing the reaction of the driver and his attempt to avoid the accident. In order to implement strategies of accident avoidance, accident causation must first be fully understood. Therefore, one of the assignments of the Volkswagen Accident Research Unit is to interpret global statistics, as well as to study single cases in order to come up with strategies for collision avoidance or mitigation. Currently, our primary concern is focused on active vehicle safety by researching vehicle behavior in the pre-crash phase.

Introduction
Monitoring and verifying vehicle safety during all stages of product development and production has always been common practice at Volkswagen. In recent years, accident research has become a priority in this process. The analysis of several variables from large accident statistical databases to regional in-depth investigations provides insight into road accidents on a global basis and the direction toward improving automobile safety. Many of the analyses are based on a data supplied to Volkswagen by the German Federal Statistics Office, the OECD and scientific institutes like Hanover Medical School, the University of Dresden, the University of Michigan Transport Research Institute and others. The database that is used most frequently is the one provided by Hanover Medical School (Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, MHH) whose Accident Research Unit has been studying and documenting road accidents since the 1970s. This database currently contains nearly 11000 cases involving 19000 vehicles and 27000 people, 15000 of which were injured. The sampling criteria are as follows: road accident accident site in Hanover City or County (approx. 2300 km, pop. 1.2 million) at least one person injured, regardless of severity

This database is nearly representative of German national accident statistics, with severe cases being slightly over-represented. On one hand, the number of cases is high enough to provide statistically significant results, on the other hand each case is documented in great detail, so differentiated analyses are possible as well.

N um be r of fa t a lly or c rit ic a lly injure d pe rsons ( M A I S 5 + ) in a c c ide nt s inv olv ing spin ning on dif f e re nt ro a d c on dit ions
2500 w it hout spinning

2250

Number of persons (MAIS 5+ )

2000

T ot a l of 3 1 3 6 pe rsons M A IS 5 + inv olv e d in a c c ide nt s on a st ra ight roa dw a y , 1 2 6 7 w it h spinning a nd 1 8 6 9 w it hout

1504

w it h spinning

1750

1500

1250

1000

T ot a l of 1 1 5 0 pe rsons M A IS 5 + inv olv e d in a c c ide nt s on a c urv e d roa dw a y , 6 0 7 w it h spinning a nd 5 4 3 w it hout

750

500

841
250

365 0 284 142

227

316

298

277
w et

0 32
ic y

0 dr y w et ic y dr y

S t ra ight roa dw a y

C urv e d roa dw a y

Fig 1: Investigation of Accidents Involving Spinning

Fig 1 shows an evaluation of road accidents from this database. The distribution represents critical and fatal injuries in reference to the type and condition of the road where the accident occurred. The data interpretation leads to the conclusion that accidents occurring on dry surfaces and involving spinning happen approximately 55% on curved roads, and approximately 35% on straight roadways.

This data summarizes the general influence of environment on the behavior of the automobile. For a more detailed analysis of the drivers ability to evaluate the situation and react in order to avoid the accident, additional data is obtained by accident research teams at Volkswagen AG through extensive evaluation and analysis of traffic accidents. The Volkswagen Accident Research Unit studies traffic accidents involving new model Volkswagens in the surrounding areas of Wolfsburg and Braunschweig. The Audi Accident Research Unit obtains accident data in Bavaria involving the newest Audi models. Both local investigations directly influence the process of vehicle development at Volkswagen. Traffic accident investigation and analysis, in regard to active and passive safety, requires precise measurement of accident markings. Since the introduction of newer active safety components, such as ABS, the evaluation and analysis of accident skid marks in the precollision phase has become more difficult. It is much easier to recognize the intensive braking behavior of a driver in the pre-collision phase through skid marks caused by locked braking, rather than the limited markings which are characteristics of cars with ABS. The development of an accident avoidance scenario essentially depends on the driving velocity and the real reaction behavior of the driver at the moment of recognition. This can be achieved through the use of an EDR (Event Data Recorder) which records crucial data, such as velocity and reaction behaviors, before the collision. At this time, the installation of the EDR awaits approval of manufacturers and lawmakers. This device could produce information not currently available to researchers and therefore lead to a better understanding of vehicle behaviors and ultimately lead to the improvement of active safety systems.

VW Golf III Cabrio VW Golf lV

Documentation

Reconstruction

Assessment

Accident Research Method of Investigation

Fig 2: Accident research at Volkswagen AG
In order to be able to formulate the events prior to the accident and to describe the vehicle and driver behavior in the Pre-crash phase, it is important that the investigation begins at the accident scene shortly after the accident. This ensures that the vehicles involved in the accident are still in the resting positions and the evidence at the scene is undisturbed. Punctual arrival permits an extensive investigation, as even the weakest evidence of an accident is still present and documented. Hours to days after the accidents, such evidence may no longer be available.

Methods of documentation at VW Accident Research

In order to ensure prompt arrival, the Volkswagen Accident Research Unit works in conjunction with regional local and autobahn police in the areas of Wolfsburg and Braunschweig. In the event of an accident involving a new model VW, the governing police station contacts the VW Accident Research Department via a mobile phone carried by a designated investigator, on-call 24 hours a day. When time permits, the investigator meets police at the scene of the accident and the formal investigation begins. Unfortunately, time is limited only to that needed by the police for their own investigation. In the event in which time does not allow the investigator to arrive at the scene, investigations are made during the days following the accident. VW also works with regional medical clinics to obtain additional relevant medical data. Personal interviews of the accident participants are also essential to the accident investigation. These interviews provide a better understanding to the accident events as a whole. The interviews are performed by means of a questionnaire developed at the Regensburg Clinic. The questionnaire has a psychological basis and is used to further the understanding of the drivers behavior. It is also very important that all of the people involved in the accident submit an information release consent form so that the investigation can continue using the technical, medical, and psychological data previously collected. This is required by the data protection act of business and government. All information provided is then compared with the results of the accident reconstruction.

Investigation at the Scene of the Accident

At the scene of the accident, remaining evidence and details of the surrounding area are recorded directly into a handheld notebook computer. The use of this computerized system is essential for the accurate documentation of evidence and of the crash scene as well as allowing for exact and fast calculations of the vehicle deformation.

Simple measurement tools used at accident scene

Fig 3: Conventional Measuring Handtools

Tools for vehicle measurement

Photos are first taken using a four point reference tool (above) then with a computer program, rectified into a two dimensional photo (right)
Fig 4: Photographic Measurement of the Accident Scene
In the past, the accident scene was measured only with conventional measuring tools, as shown in Fig 3. A new way of measuring the scene and vehicles efficiently is through photographic measurement. By rectifying a photo, analog or digital, near exact accident sketches with complex markings can be generated, as clearly shown in Fig 4. However, this method requires surface markings to be in-plane.

For more extensive accident scenes, a satellite based measuring procedure is used. A GPS receiver records the position coordinates of the roadway. These can be illustrated, transferred into a sketch and completed with the accident evidence. A future goal of Volkswagens accident research group will be to scan not only the roadway, but the entire accident scene and surrounding area, to supply extensive information about the accident to be used in retrospective studies of active vehicle safety.

Photography as Tool of precise and fast vehicle measurement

A significant factor for finding the initial velocity is the reconstruction of the accident sequence, i.e. determining the energy dissipated during the vehicles motion and collision. Using the energy-based description of the individual accident phases, conclusions about potential passenger injuries in specific phases can be drawn. This information can then lead to the optimization of vehicle safety. Energy is measured directly form the vehicles deformation. Conventional methods of measurement using tools were used up until now, however the future of deformation measurement lies in photographic measurement techniques. Volkswagen Accident Research is working presently with Vehicle Safety and Product Analysis to compile an efficient mode of measuring deformation of the vehicles contour with the help of photogrammetry. [ 1 ].

Pre-determined marker positioning

Digital photography

Computer Program

Downloading of digital photos into computer

Calculation of camera and marker positions

Output of marker coordinates in text file

Fig 5: Process of Photographic Measurement

Fig 5 shows the process of the measuring and analyzing the vehicle using photogrammetric measurement. The placing and the quantity of the coded markers significantly affects the accuracy of the measurement. Measured points are pre-defined; therefore, placing the measuring points over the outer contour of the vehicle must be done carefully to take into account the collision damages and the partial inaccessibility of the designated points. The number of markers used should be sufficient enough to allow the vehicles to be rapidly prepared at the same time ensuring the necessary accuracy and detail. This is shown in Fig 6.

Fig 6: A VW Golf prepared with the specially coded markers.

The structural changes are compared with the standard construction data, and the displacements of relevant measuring points are measured. Based on these displacements, conclusions can be made about the energy consumed within individual structural areas. Apart from the energy transfer, this method also has the capability to show intrusions into the passenger compartment, and therefore determine possible injury risks for the passengers. The direction of the measuring point displacement caused by the deformation can also reveal the direction of the forces as they occurred during the impact. Therefore, these new methods of analysis enable a more exact evaluation of real traffic accidents by extending the information base collected and thus aiding the further improvement of the passive safety of vehicles. As a result, the accurate measurement of deformation further contributes to the increase in accuracy of the reconstruction since collision velocities and impact configurations depend on precise values. In general, precise statements of pre-collision behavior of the vehicles are necessary in the entire process of accident research. (This point again stresses the importance of the vehicle pre-collision behavior in the entire process of accident research.)

Application of the research in the development of safety components

A study of the injury risk of belted and unbelted occupants Accidents involving a rollover of one or more of the vehicles involved are often spectacular and therefore frequently covered by the media which influences the popular perception of the risk associated with this kind of accident. Whether or not this perception is supported by statistical analysis of real-world data will be shown in this study. For a first assessment of the risk associated with rollover accidents only severely injured (MAIS3+ and 4+) occupants of passenger cars were taken into account. A further differentiation by type of impact showed that only a relatively small part of these persons sustained their injuries in a rollover accident. For belted occupants the share is 5.9% of MAIS3+ and 4.7% of MAIS4+. This share however is substantially higher for unbelted occupants (11.4% and 11.9%, respectively, Fig 7).

Distribution of MAIS3+ and 4+ injuries by impact type

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% MAIS3+ belted MAIS3+ unbelted MAIS4+ belted MAIS4+ unbelted
unknown water, if relevant fire & collision fire only sideswipe obstacle < 40 cm wide obstacle > 40 cm wide not applicable rollover

Fig 7: Distribution of MAIS3+ and 4+ injuries by impact type

This distribution of impact types, along with the higher injury risk of unbelted occupants leads to the conclusion rollover accidents are of minor relevance for critical injuries as long as occupants are belted. This finding holds true even if less severe injuries (MAIS2+) are regarded. In this case the number of available cases is much higher, so an additional differentiation by collision sequence is possible, namely isolated collision isolated rollover collision first, then rollover rollover first, then collision collision before and after rollover.

For isolated collisions and isolated rollovers the risk of a MAIS2+ injury was found to be very similar (approx. 18%). There is, however, a significant increase when a rollover is accompanied by a collision before and/or afterwards (Fig 8). It seems safe to conclude that significant injuries in accidents involving rollover are not necessarily caused by the rollover itself but seem to be associated with prior or subsequent collisions. The risk of minor (MAIS1+) injuries, however, is at around 85 93% for all rollover accidents (with or without any further collisions) which is much higher than the corresponding risk in case of an isolated collision (62%). This finding can be summarized as rollover accidents are associated with a relatively high risk of sustaining minor injuries and a relatively low risk of sustaining severe injuries.

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% no rollover, deltav>5 km/h (n=4693/1390/518) rollover only (n=243/49/9) collision delta-v>5 prior to rollover (n=447/149/49) collision delta-v>5 post rollover (n=27/14/3) collision delta-v>5 prior&post rollover (n=17/9/1) MAIS1+ MAIS2+ MAIS3+ MAIS1+, 2+ and 3+ injury risk by collision sequence (passenger cars, belted drivers)

Fig 8: Injury risk over collision sequence

h static c/g height h track width w h=sqrt(h+(w))-h vcrit=sqrt(2gh) with h = .55 m and w = 1.45 m, vcrit=9.5 km/h
Fig 9: An estimate of the minimum energy required for rollover
For this analysis only collisions that led to a delta-v of 5 km/h or more were taken into account, primarily to rule out collisions between cars and pedestrians or bicyclists. This may seem arbitrary at first sight but it must be remembered that collisions can happen at any speed while rollover requires a minimum amount of energy. Thus a minimum energy (or, speed) threshold is in the rollover criterion as well. Here, however, it is in the physics of the rollover rather than in the database retrieval. An estimate of this minimum speed, neglecting deformation energy, is given in Fig 9. It turns out that it takes at least approx. 10 km/h for a passenger car to roll over, so the 5 km/h limit set to the database retrieval is, in fact, conservative. A study of airbag efficiency Over the past ten years the use of airbags has increased continuously, and most current passenger cars are equipped at least with a driver and a passenger airbag. As a result, the share of airbag-equipped vehicles in the fleet has increased to the point that makes a quantitative study of their efficiency possible.

Using the MHH database mentioned before, the risk of sustaining a MAIS2+ injury was established as a function of the collision delta-v. The study was restricted to belted drivers of passenger cars produced in 1990 or later whose worst collision was frontal (regardless of offset). Applying these criteria, the remaining 1018 drivers were sorted into three categories, namely a) no airbag b) airbag present, but not deployed c) airbag deployed.
100% 90% 80% MAIS2+ injury risk 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 15 20 25 30 35 40 delta-v 45 50 55 60 65 belted drivers passenger cars 1990 -> worst collision frontal no airbag present airbag present & deployed

Fig 10: MAIS 2+ injury risk as a function of delta-v

As expected, drivers whose airbags had not deployed showed mostly at low values of delta-v. Since their number was too low to obtain any meaningful results they were not taken into account for further analysis. A comparison of the risk curves, Fig 10, shows that airbag deployment is indeed beneficial; the risk for non-airbag-protected drivers being two or three times as high as for drivers whose airbag had deployed for most of the delta-v interval considered (15 to 65 km/h). For delta-vs outside of this range no risk curves could be established due to insufficient case numbers. Please note also that the curves in Fig 10 are subject to statistical noise, e.g. a decrease in a certain delta-v interval does not contradict an overall increase.

Potential improvement of the active safety components as a result of accident research

With the use of large databases, global information allows us to gain statistical relevance and dependency of collision parameters on accident events. Distributions of Collision velocities Engagement factors Driver population, etc.

can be generated from the accident data using a filter and an evaluation function.

A prediction of the efficiency of vehicle passive and active safety components before series release is, as expected, more difficult. In addition, the collection, analysis and availability of accident data from field investigations, like the research of accidents at the Medical University of Hanover and Dresden Technical University, unfortunately, can demonstrate the effects of safety components used in the series only after a significant delay. This presents a demand of accident research to the automotive manufacturer, in which effectiveness of safety components can be evaluated and judged on an individual case basis, and then incorporated back into the development phase.

Extension of collection criteria for the analysis of the pre-crash phase

Presently, the variables in the MHH/TU Dresden database put emphasis on the evaluation of passive safety components of the vehicle. Injury codes are also assigned and evaluated as a result of the occupant kinematics. On the other hand, the investigations at the accident scene, the vehicle, and the final results of the accident reconstruction in the database are more descriptive than analytical in reference to the evaluation of the active vehicle safety. As seen in Fig 11, the MHH database provides approximately 115 variables describing the active safety features.

Environment
Accident Site Time of day Urban or rural setting Weather conditions Accident type Road type Road condition Type of skidmarks Length of skidmarks ...

Auto Information
Make, Model,... Powertrain, transmission Lights Steering Type of brakes ASR, ESP Tires ...

Reconstruction
Precrash movement Curve radius, angle Time between reaction and collision Skidding before crash Initial velocity Impact velocity Collision, impulse, and sideslip angle Deceleration before/after collision

Ergonomics

- ...

- Temperature controls, A/C - Cruise control - Type and Postion of Seat

55 Variables

20 Variables

40 Variables

Fig 11: Active safety variables from the MHH/TU Dresden database
An analysis of the variables entered in this database can adequately describe the events of a rollover accident and the collision retrospectively. However, for analysis, substantial parameters are missing in the pre-crash phase. With the present status of the MHH/TU Dresden database, the spinning behavior of the vehicles at the accident initiation, the driver behavior at the critical point and the vehicle behavior to collision remain almost unconsidered in analyses. The influence of the driver from the outside, i.e. by environmental influences, the situation within the vehicle (topic: ergonomics) and the interaction between vehicle and the environment are inadequately described by the available parameters. An assessment of the effectiveness of Driver Assistance Systems and of its components, which serve to help avoid accident, is greatly limited based on the data available. While Driver Assistance Systems of modern vehicles, which are becoming even more complex in function, can be evaluated by means of an Event Data Recorder, such devices can not record the interaction of vehicle and driver behavior. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of active safety in motor vehicles, the information from the accident sequence that is already in the needed form should be obtained and documented. As a result, without an individual case study, conclusions can be made regarding the possible potential of the accident avoidance and the decrease of accident events occurring within real-life accidents.

Through our own accident research, in addition to the accident research at the MHH and TU Dresden, topics of the active safety are addressed and relevant parameters are defined and obtained. As an example of a vehicle without ESP, Fig 12 illustrates the estimated accident sequence to the point of collision and the vehicle behavior, in which the driver loses control of the vehicle, spins off the road, and ends in a rollover.
Undisturbed driving Reaction - Steering - Braking Spinning Collision

MHH Existing Data

Phase Related Variables (additional)

- Postcrash velocity - Curve radius - Impact velocity - yaw and sideslip angle - Lane departure - Angular velocity - Angle of lane departure - Average deceleration - Average deceleration - Phase length (Time and Distance) - Time between reaction and collision - Friction coefficients of tires (right/left) - Rollover - Driver behavior(Corrective steering, ...) Fig 12: Variables Necessary to Describe Path of Movement A phase-by-phase analysis of the vehicle behavior and, more importantly, driver behavior, is necessary for the accident involving spinning, apart from the collection of the global parameters based on the MHH data. Strategies for collision avoidance or mitigation can be evaluated by the analysis of these characteristics without requiring an individual case study. The quantity of data and the time expenditure of the reconstruction are limited with this form of data collection to simply physical evidence. The depth of collection and the selection of the parameters should be constantly adapted in the collection process to the requirements of future Driver Assistance Systems. This requires a close cooperation of accident research and development departments, as already in practice at Volkswagen AG.

References: [1] Becker, H., u.a: Photogrammetrische Fahrzeugvermessung als mobiles Vermessungstool zur Analyse von Fahrzeugdeformationen in Realunfllen, VDI-Kongre Me- und Versuchstechnik, Nrnberg, 2001 [2] Otte, D.: The Accident Research Unit Hannover as Example for Importance and Benefit of Existing In-depth Investigations. SAE Technical Paper 940712