Rear passenger restraint in frontal NCAP tests compared to the right-front passenger

OBJECTIVE: female Hybrid III in the right-rear and right-front passenger seats in frontal NCAP tests with 2015-16 MY vehicles. It focused on the lap-shoulder belt restraint of the rear passenger. METHODS: Hybrid III dummy in the rear and front were analyzed. The tests included onboard video cameras covering the rear and front passenger. Lap and shoulder belt loads were measured. The responses were compared for the two seating positions and restraint systems. Three of the 11 crash tests involved submarining by the right-rear passenger at 76.0 ± 7.2 ms. Two tests with submarining involved the seatbelt buckle lifting by shoulder belt load pulling the lap belt onto the abdomen. One test involved compressing the front of the seat cushion with the H-point dropping, the pelvis rotating rearward and the lap belt sliding onto the abdomen. CONCLUSIONS: was 3.7-times higher in the rear passenger than the front. The Nij was 2.5-times higher and chest deflection was 2.2-times higher. The dummy responses were significantly higher in the rear seat compared to the front seat because of greater restraining loads, submarining and a hardware failure in NCAP tests. The lack of pretensioning, load limiting and airbags involved higher injury risks in the rear passenger compared to the right-front passenger.