Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Volume 9, No. 2
April 2014
e in peoples
From the Editors Desk
ity to make a real differenc
ch company is the opportun
safety resear
en wellbeing on Indias
ring the elements that threat
sha
d
an
g
erin
cov
dis
to
ted
ica
road accident data that
lives. JP Research India is ded
informed by just the sort of
s
icle
art
g
nin
-ope
eye
ee
thr
al crashes on
present
an unexpected number of fat
roads, and in this issue, we
ws
sho
y
onl
not
ta
da
sh
. In the first, cra
JPRI collects and analyzes
influencing many of these.
t the roadways themselves are
tha
es
ish
abl
est
it
s,
ay
sw
expres
roads with
s pose to those that share the
icle
veh
ted
un
mo
rl-ba
bul
ies since
ts the dangers
documented in most countr
ng
bei
The second article highligh
now
y
onl
is
te
era
t these grill guards gen
findings will surprise
them. The level of injury tha
crash reports. We think the
in
ed
not
lly
ica
cif
spe
not
tion efforts that
s often
noted in its own data collec
the presence of a bull bar wa
has
I
JPR
ue
iss
ess
hin
ort
vehicle crashw
you. Finally, we report on a
h controlled crash testing.
oug
thr
has now been borne out
other route? Or
re hazardous than using an
mo
be
ld
cou
ay
sw
res
exp
good crash
t taking the
is the amazing thing about
at
Th
Who would have guessed tha
m?
the
ind
beh
ted
sea
erous even for those
ulators where more work
that bull bars could be dang
chers, manufacturers and reg
ear
res
ws
sho
d
an
ow
kn
didnt
datait tells you what you
.
ded
nee
are
ons
and better soluti
Jeya
SafetySpeak!
Volume 9, No. 2
Page 2
Volume 9, No. 2
SafetySpeak!
Page 3
Aggressive hunks of formed metal do add a sturdy look to a car, and they are
very popular with the SUV crowd, but when brought to the cities, this eye
candy carries with it some serious hazards.
Protection or Danger?
Solutions
One solution to the hazards posed by bull bars is to make them illegal, or highly
restricted, as is the case in the European Union, Australia and New Zealand.
Other solutions are to make them integral to the vehicle (picture below) and to
use more forgiving materials (e.g., aluminum tubing is safer than solid steel),
and there is research ongoing in these and related areas [see Endnote].
Understandably, if you drive in remote areas, you do not want the front-end of
your vehicle destroyed and yourself stranded or injured due to an animal
encounter, but if this is your main concern,
make sure that the bars have no sharp
edges, are not wider than the vehicle, are
not excessively rigid, and do not protrude
far in front. You might also want to avoid
traffic and people. There is nothing wrong
with making a vehicle attractive, but it
should not be at the cost of someones life.
- Boopathi Raja
SafetySpeak!
Volume 9, No. 2
Page 4
Volume 9, No. 2
SafetySpeak!
Page 5
JPRI Events
The Fourth Annual RASSI
Consortium Meeting took
place on March 21st at Pune,
with representatives from
members Bosch, Daimler,
Hyundai, Nissan, Renault,
and JP Research-USA
attending. The focus was on
the great strides made in
data collection and in
developing methodologies
for causation analyses and
data extrapolation. In
addition, it was announced
that a new RASSI data
collection site is being
opened up, by invitation of
the Transport
Commissioner, in
Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Top: RASSI Consortium Annual Meeting, attendees. For more on the meeting and on what JPR-USA
and JPRI are up to these days, see the interactive article and interview with Jeya Padmanaban in the
1April 2014 issue of Autocar Professional.
Volume 9, No. 2
SafetySpeak!
ENDNOTE
Page 6
SafetySpeak!
____________________
Jeya Padmanaban,
President, JP Research Inc.
JP Research Editors / Writers:
M. Bhuvanesh Bharath Alwar (India)
Sheryl Siebenborn (USA)
Ravishankar Rajaraman (India)
____________________
MISSION STATEMENT
To mitigate accidents and injuries to
road users in India by helping local
automotive safety organizations,
government agencies, and
manufacturers through accident and
safety research and training, and
creating public awareness of traffic
safety issues.
____________________
CONTACT US
JP Research India Pvt. Ltd.
583/1, 1st Floor, Sri Kumaran Salai
Civil Aerodrome Post, Avinashi Road
Poof!
In the future, multivehicle road accidents
may look like a spilled
bag of marshmallows, at
least in the initial
minutes after contact as
every vehicle releases
an exterior airbag
activated by sensors.
These same sensors will
deploy for pedestrians
and cyclists as well. At
right is a TRW design.
Rubber Buggy Bumpers
Replacing angular, unforgiving bull bars with rounded, energy-absorbing
alternatives may not only reduce the severity of injuries for pedestrians but for
vehicle occupants as well. Various designs have been tested, although neartotal bans on the devices in many countries may slow interest in production.
reachus@jpresearchindia.com