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EUROPEAN UNION

EUROPEAN UNION. Ageing Europe: Implications for EU Policy Vehicle Safety Adrian Hobbs/ Murray Mackay. The Ageing Road User. Living longer More mobile Greater wealth Downsizing to smaller cars. Vulnerability to Injury. Reduced bone strength Osteoporosis Female from 45 - 50 years

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EUROPEAN UNION

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  1. EUROPEAN UNION Ageing Europe: Implications for EU Policy Vehicle Safety Adrian Hobbs/ Murray Mackay

  2. The Ageing Road User • Living longer • More mobile • Greater wealth • Downsizing to smaller cars

  3. Vulnerability to Injury • Reduced bone strength • Osteoporosis • Female from 45 - 50 years • Male from 55 - 60 years • Main bones affected • Ribs • Upper and Lower Limbs

  4. Vulnerability to Injury • Less flexible spine • Inter-vertebral disc degeneration • Increased susceptibility to injury Also • Reduced movement

  5. Vision & Perception • Reduced visual acuity • Particularly at dusk • Perception errors • Looked but didn’t see • Particularly two-wheelers

  6. Recovery from Injury • Slow recovery • Risk of complications

  7. External Influences • Downsizing to smaller cars • Higher seat belt forces • Use of thicker clothing • Seat belt slack • Travelling in the rear seat • Poor seat belt geometry • Lack of pretensioners • Lack of load limiters • Absence of airbags

  8. Injury Risk • Three times more likely to die in frontal or side impact • 286 % increase in aged fatalities predicted

  9. Implications for Vehicle Design • Safer car fronts • Older pedestrian casualties - 50% of pedestrian deaths in OECD countries • On arterial roads • Unsuitable for pedestrianisation • Unsuitable for traffic calming

  10. Implications for Vehicle Design • EU Directive on safer car fronts • High level of protection required by the EU Treaty • Needs to implement with certainty the state-of-the-art EEVC crash tests, used by EuroNCAP since 1996 • EU Savings: up to 2000 lives for additional costs at design stage @ 30 euros per car

  11. Implications for Vehicle Design • Improved compatibility • Good early structural interaction • Improved deceleration pulse Shape • Improved protection in small cars

  12. Implications for Vehicle Design • Day running lights • Visibility of two-wheelers to aid perception

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