Snippets

This page presents some snippets of recent projects. See the Research page for a broader overview of my research activities.

Optimizing Head Restraint Geometry

Head Restraint Data

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has amended Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 202 to require higher and more-forward head restraints (sometimes called head rests, but primarily intended to protect occupant's necks in rear collisions). The new regulation, called FMVSS 202a, requires that head restraints lie within 55 mm of a Head Restraint Measurement Device representing a midsize-male head shape when measured at a seat back angle of 25 degrees. When this rule was proposed, my colleagues and I published a report showing that most drivers sit with more-upright seatback angles. We concluded that designing to the 55-mm "backset" would cause the head restraint to interfere with the preferred head locations of a substantial number of drivers. This prediction has since been substantiated by other research and field reports from vehicles built to the new standard. Recently, my colleague Prof. Matt Parkinson, who heads the OPEN Design Laboratory at Pensylvania State University, conducted a simulation study of an alternative seat back design that optimizes the head restraint position across seat back angles. This approach reduces the likelihood of interference with the head restraint for smaller-stature drivers while ensuring that taller drivers, who tend to select more-reclined seat back angles, are equally well protected. More...

 

©2007 Matthew P. Reed