An investigation of hybrid III and living human drop tests

The effect of roof crush on restrained occupants has often been discussed w ithout regard to the headroom available, effectiveness of belts, and locati on of roof crush. In this article, the question of the ability to protect a simply restrained occupant in an environment in which the roof does not cr ush is addressed. The subjects were inverted and dropped vertically in nonc rushable production vehicle compartments and a specially designed drop fixt ure. Data collected includes head accelerations, vehicle accelerations, hea d displacements, belt angles, anchor point location, seat position, and bel t tension for a variety of occupant sizes. To our knowledge, these are the first inverted living human vertical studie s to be scientifically documented and reported. It was found that no head o r neck injuries resulted from drops of up to 91 cm and velocities up to 4.2 m/sec for restrained occupants in the absence of roof crush.