Pedestrian mortality in Russia: a continuous decline over the last 25 years?

Using different data sources (HCoD, IRTAD, UNECE statistical database, police data), our research shows that the significant excess of pedestrian mortality over motor vehicle occupant mortality in 1988-1999 in Russia, according to RusFMD, is an abnormal phenomenon that most likely never occurred. Police data is preferable for assessing mortality levels by road user types in Russia. According to Russian police data, pedestrian mortality never exceeded motor vehicle occupant mortality. The steady decline of pedestrian mortality began in 2003, not in 1993, as vital statistics show. In 2008, pedestrian mortality for the first time reached the minimum level of the Soviet period. After significant fluctuations, motor vehicle occupant mortality dropped to the level of the early 1970s only in 2015-2017. The use of vital statistics is possible if it is necessary to differentiate road traffic mortality by sex, age, and type of settlements. Categorisation by road user types should be done with caution, using the following data sources: HCoD data from 1988 and RusFMD data from 1970 to 1988 and after 1999. It is suggested that difficulties in analysing long-term mortality by road user types based on vital statistics may occur in post-Soviet countries, where the Soviet abridged classification of causes of death (SC) was used. The prevalence of deaths coded by unspecified V-codes (V89) should also be considered.

Crashworthiness of Traffic Light Steel Poles in Vehicle Collisions

Vehicle crashworthiness focuses on the capability of a vehicle to protect its occupants in a collision. The Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code [2] does not provide design criteria for vehicle occupant safety except by field testing. The test-guided product development process is very costly and time-consuming. As an alternative, computer simulation tools are increasingly being used. The aim of this research is to contribute to the efficient design of traffic light poles by developing an experimentally calibrated, computer-based, finite-element model using LSDYNA [54], capable of predicting accurately their response when subjected to vehicle impact. The case of steel pole embedded directly in soil was proved to be strong enough to offer protection under service loading and vehicle impact. Side impact crashed proved to be more severe for the vehicle occupant as a result of the weak structural performance of the side doors of the vehicle. Based on this an innovative pole supported on a hard rubber base is introduced to improve crashworthiness.

Crashworthiness of Traffic Light Steel Poles in Vehicle Collisions

Vehicle crashworthiness focuses on the capability of a vehicle to protect its occupants in a collision. The Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code [2] does not provide design criteria for vehicle occupant safety except by field testing. The test-guided product development process is very costly and time-consuming. As an alternative, computer simulation tools are increasingly being used. The aim of this research is to contribute to the efficient design of traffic light poles by developing an experimentally calibrated, computer-based, finite-element model using LSDYNA [54], capable of predicting accurately their response when subjected to vehicle impact. The case of steel pole embedded directly in soil was proved to be strong enough to offer protection under service loading and vehicle impact. Side impact crashed proved to be more severe for the vehicle occupant as a result of the weak structural performance of the side doors of the vehicle. Based on this an innovative pole supported on a hard rubber base is introduced to improve crashworthiness.

Vehicle occupant safety development with finite element method

Crash tests of vehicles are specified by government programs. This laws are includes only minimum requirements for individual components. Therefore additional consumer protection load cases have been developed by independent private institutes. Finite element method simulations can reduce development periods and the number of cost-intensive real crash tests. The goals of the calculations are that the early detection of component failure, the protection of occupants or pedestrians. The biggest challenge of the future, in the field of vehicle occupant safety is the interaction of the airbags and belt system with dummy by the electric vehicles, which have the concept of autonomous driving function. The aim of the research is to investigate this area using a simulation model.