A numerical study on pedestrian kinematics and injury parameters in bus collisions

Paper in proceeding, 2014

This paper aimed at investigating the injury risk and the kinematics of pedestrians in collisions with buses. A mathematical model of a production bus was developed. A parameter study of the bus-pedestrian collision was carried out by using the bus MB (multi-body model) and a validated pedestrian MB model in terms of pedestrian postures, bus front design parameters, and different impact conditions. The results indicated that the initial state of pedestrians has significant influences on their kinematic responses. The impact speed and front stiffness has remarkable effects on pedestrian injury severities. Besides, restricted bus travel speed, lowered stiffness of bus front structure and reduced ground clearance could reduce the pedestrian injury risks.