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news
Date: 06-07-2009
Autor: marketing Email: whiplash@ctag.com CTAG accredited by Euro NCAP to perform Whiplash low-speed rear impact tests In Europe, nearly 220.000 people per year suffered from this type of injury caused by low speed rear impact. CTAG's safety laboratory has been accredited by Euro NCAP, as one of 4 laboratories in Europe, to perform Whiplash testing and to analyze new vehicles’ performance in case of low-speed rear end collision. Low speed rear impacts have been finally included in 2009 Euro NCAP new vehicles assessment. This particular type of impact results in a very common injury known as cervical lash or Whiplash caused by a sudden backward movement suffered by the head. In Europe, nearly 220.000 people per year suffered from whiplash injury which means more than 10.000 million Euros spent annually by the European Union in treatments and 37% of the compensations paid by insurance companies for body injuries in traffic accidents. To avoid or mitigate this effect, new concepts have been developed for seat and head rests, considered now passive safety components. Since the current legislation does not take into account either the efficiency or the proper use of head rests, workteams have been investigating and developing a test methodology for the analysis of these injuries. CTAG, being both a passive safety specialist and a senior member of these workteams, has actively contributed to the definition of a new Euro NCAP protocol. CTAG is a technological centre dedicated to R&D activities for the automotive industry and specialized in two main aspects of safety, namely, active safety, developing electronic driving assistance systems with state-of-the-art technologies and, passive safety searching the best way to minimize the consequences of an accident. In this last field CTAG is in constant collaboration with IDIADA Automotive Technologies. Thanks to its experience in Whiplash, CTAG provides the automotive industry with a global service to improve the seat performance in case of rear impacts, based on a methodology combining virtual simulation and physical testing performed in the Euro NCAP accredited laboratory. To this purpose CTAG relies on a team of highly qualified engineers and technical personnel with experience in seat design, testing and optimization, using CAD and CAE tools and advanced equipment such as an inverse catapult and a BIORID-II dummy specific for the test accomplishment. CTAG’s bet on safety will soon culminate in the creation of an Excellence Centre in Automotive Electronics.
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