RESEARCH & EVALUATION
Vehicle Safety Research
Vehicle Safety
The Office of Vehicle Safety Research and supports U.S. DOT’s and NHTSA’s safety goals by conducting research and safety testing of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment.
NHTSA’s recently published vehicle safety reports are listed chronologically below.
| Title | |
|---|---|
| search results table | |
Passenger Vehicle Surrogate Test Target Radar Return RepeatabilityThis report identifies the variance in the radar cross section of one vehicle test device, a test surrogate designed to emulate a small passenger car. Additional work was done on heavy duty commercial and light duty passenger vehicles, of different classes and styles to for comparison. Descriptions of the test equipment, measurement process, evaluation method, and results are given. |
DOT HS 813 648 |
Heavy-Duty Vehicle Transmission Benchmarking – Volvo I-Shift 12-Speed Automated Manual TransmissionThis report benchmarks the Volvo I-Shift AT2612F 12-speed automated manual transmission used in Class 8 trucks. Benchmarking tests included component level and system level and system level performance of overall transmission efficiency, in-gear inertia maps, oil pump mapping, ratio determination, and shifting strategies. |
DOT HS 813 620 |
Testing Rear-Door-Logic Based Unattended Child Reminder SystemsFrom 1998 to 2023 there were 971 reported deaths in the United States due to pediatric vehicular heatstroke (PVH), an average of 37 PVH deaths per year. Unattended child reminder systems (UCRS), also known as child presence detection (CPD) systems, use methods to detect (direct sensing) or infer (indirect sensing) the presence of a child inside a vehicle. If a child is detected or inferred, the UCRS provides an alert and may also include interventions that could reduce the risk to a child that has been left unattended knowingly or unknowingly. The most common types of UCRS in production in 2023 are indirect sensing systems that identify a rear door opening to infer the potential presence of a child. This study analyzes how 12 vehicles that use rear door logic-based systems alert a driver to a child forgotten in the rear seats at the end of a journey through comparisons with UCRS alert recommendations. |
DOT HS 813 669 |
THOR-50M In-Dummy Data Acquisition System EvaluationThis report describes the methods, procedures, and analysis used to evaluate the Test Device for Human Occupant Restraint 50th percentile male (THOR-50M) dummy without an internal data acquisition system (DAS) and a THOR-50M with an internal DAS. Qualification and crash testing were performed to investigate the differences in responses generated by the two versions of the dummy. |
DOT HS 813 618 |
A Teardown Study of Flood-Damaged Electric VehiclesThe objective of this research was to perform a teardown analysis on ten flood-damaged electric vehicles (EVs) recovered after Hurricane Ian in 2022. Nine of the vehicles retained a high state of charge, despite the water exposure and 10 months of storage. Upon inspection, infiltration pathways of saltwater into the battery packs were identified. The packs were assessed to determine the extent to which their designs and component degradation contributed to the ingress of water. For all vehicles, the volume of water infiltration was insufficient to trigger a thermal event. Nonetheless, the root causes of water infiltration into EV batteries due to saltwater damage were identified. The study provides valuable insights to guide future research on battery safety. |
DOT HS 813 644 |
Light-Duty Vehicle Transmission Benchmarking – 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime P810 Transmission and Q610 Rear AxleThis report benchmarks the 2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid P810 electric continuously variable transmission and its Q610 electric rear axle. Benchmarking tasks include component and system level performance of overall transmission efficiency, torque converter performance, in-gear inertia maps, oil pump mapping, ratio determination, and shifting and converter strategies. |
DOT HS 813 604 |
Assessment of Driver Monitoring Systems for Alcohol Impairment Detection and Level 2 AutomationThis report reviews and assesses driver monitoring systems (DMS) and related technologies for alcohol impairment detection and Level 2 partial driving automation systems. A key focus reviewed systems being developed to detect alcohol-caused driving impairment as well as systems that can precisely estimate blood alcohol concentrations. These were classified as physiology-based, tissue spectroscopy-based, camera-based, vehicle kinematics-based, hybrid (i.e., two or more technologies), and patent-stage systems. The review of DMS for Level 2 systems involved a literature review, technology review, and interviews with subject matter experts. The report describes the current state of the technology and practice, advantages and limitations of different approaches, and the readiness of these technologies to address targeted driver states. |
DOT HS 813 577 |
WorldSID-50M Repeatability and Reproducibility of Qualification TestsThis research report evaluates the repeatability and reproducibility (R&R) of the updated Worldwide harmonized Side Impact Dummy 50th percentile adult male dummy (WorldSID-50M) in qualification tests. |
DOT HS 813 554 |
Development of Side Impact Test Procedures for Improved Wheelchair Transportation SafetyThis report presents the development of side impact test procedures for evaluating wheelchairs, wheelchair tiedowns and occupant restraint systems (WTORS), and vehicle-based occupant protection systems for wheelchair seating stations. The background includes review of existing relevant voluntary standards and past research. Tasks to develop the testing procedure include analysis to develop a relevant crash pulse, placement of the wheelchair station relative to simulated vehicle interior, seatbelt conditions, and appropriately simulated vehicle intrusion. Sled tests were performed to validate surrogate fixtures and commercial hardware being used to develop finite element (FE) models that can demonstrate the procedure. Additional tests were performed to determine how to adapt the Surrogate Wheelchair Base (SWCB) for use as a Surrogate Wheelchair for Side Impact (SWCSI), as well as to evaluate proposed performance criteria for wheelchairs and WTORS in side impact. Validated FE models were developed for the SWCB, SWCSI, a manual wheelchair (Ki Mobility Catalyst 5), and a power wheelchair (Quantum Rehab Edge 2.0). Additional FE models of a heavy-duty anchor meeting the Universal Docking Interface Geometry (UDIG), surrogate four-point strap tiedowns (SWTORS), a traditional docking station, and the surrogate wall fixture were also developed. Comparisons of sled tests and FE models show acceptable validation results. The proposed wheelchair side impact test procedure includes separate sections for testing wheelchairs, WTORS, and vehicle-based occupant protection systems. Detailed procedures and exemplary testing results are documented in this report. |
DOT HS 813 498 |
Review of Technology to Prevent Alcohol- and Drug-Impaired Crashes: UpdateThis report examines the state-of-the-art and availability of technology to prevent alcohol-impaired driving by reviewing the progress of automakers, suppliers, and technology developers since 2007 when the Review of Technology to Prevent Alcohol-Impaired Crashes (TOPIC) was published by Pollard, Nadler, and Stearns. The present examination increases the scope of the 2007 report and focuses on preventing alcohol-impairment specifically, while considering technologies intended to address other forms of impairment (i.e., drowsiness and distraction). |
DOT HS 813 542 |