The Equitable Occupant Protection informal working group pursues equitable and enhanced protection of diverse populations through robust, inclusive regulatory solutions addressing rear-end impact soft tissue neck injuries and frontal impact restraint systems. The group extends assessment towards brain injuries, soft tissue neck injuries, and lower extremity injuries with high frequency and risk of permanent medical impairment. Four task forces focus on rear impact seat assessment, virtual crash testing, frontal impact and restraint system requirements, and assessment of currently not considered injury types. Workshops are scheduled for June 29-30 on rear impact assessment, September 7 in Munich on virtual crash testing, and November 4-6 in Tokyo on frontal impact.

The Equitable Occupant Protection Informal Working Group to GRSP pursues equitable and enhanced protection of a diverse population through robust regulatory solutions addressing rear-end and frontal impacts. Strategic goals include reducing injury risk for restraint systems, assessing currently not considered injury types with high frequency and risk of Permanent Musculoskeletal Impairment, and avoiding bias in protection. The group established task forces on rear impact seat assessment focusing on soft tissue neck injuries, virtual crash testing, frontal impact and restraint system requirements, and extension of assessment towards currently not considered injury types. Upcoming workshops are scheduled for June online, September in Munich, and November in Tokyo. Next steps include prioritization and categorization of identified topics into short-term, mid-term, and long-term timeframes within respective task forces.

The EqOP-TF4 held its 4th meeting on 14 April 2026 with 28 participants. BASt presented an updated GIDAS analysis of abdominal injuries in belted occupants with single major impacts. The Swedish Transport Agency presented an updated study on occupant abdominal trauma including pelvic fractures and injury severity by age and seatbelt effects. OICA presented French collision data from 2012 to 2024 showing rear seats are significantly less utilized and the front row represents 96% of fatalities and most serious injuries in M₁ passenger cars. The Chair and secretary will compile input on priorities. The next meeting is scheduled for 25 June 2026, with an in-person workshop planned for 4–6 November 2026 in Japan.

The draft agenda for the 5th meeting of Task Force 4 Frontal Impact & Restraint System Requirements is scheduled for June 25, 2026, online from 12.00 to 14.00 CET. The meeting will cover approval of the agenda and previous minutes, review of the progress dashboard, presentations of updated studies on abdominal injuries and rear row, continued discussion on priorities, a workshop in Japan, conclusions, next steps, the next meeting, and any other business.

From 2006 to 2025, Swedish emergency hospitals treated 170,995 injured drivers and passengers in passenger cars (52% men, 48% women). Pelvic fractures occurred in 1,198 individuals (0.7%), with 78% having one fracture and 22% having multiple fractures. The proportion of pelvic fractures increased with age and when seat belts were not used. Drivers comprised 71% of injured, front passengers 14%, and rear passengers 8%.

GIDAS data analysis examined abdominal injuries in car crashes from 2005–2025. Case selection included passenger cars registered 2005–2025, occupants over 11 years old, belted, with at least AIS 1 in AIS15REG5. The study analyzed 234 cars with 248 occupants sustaining abdominal injuries. Frontal impacts accounted for 71%, rear impacts 12%, left side impacts 10%, and right side impacts 8% of cases. Analysis examined injury distribution across AIS levels, gender, age, height, weight, delta V, seating position, and specific abdominal injuries.

This accidentology study analyzed French national accident data from 2015–2024 for M₁ vehicles involved in frontal collisions. Overall occupancy rate was 1.4 persons per vehicle, with rear rows accounting for 11% of occupants. Rear right seats were most occupied (46%), followed by rear left (40%) and rear centre (12%). Fatalities occurred in 96% of front row occupants versus 4% in rear rows. Rear row occupants showed consistently lower severity outcomes across all injury categories compared to front row occupants, with no significant differences observed before or after 2020.

The informal working group on Equitable Occupant Protection will hold its 16th meeting on 18 May 2026 from 10.00 to 12.00 CET via TEAMS. The preliminary agenda includes adoption of the agenda, approval of minutes from the 15th meeting, review of the Progress Dashboard, status review of task forces, a report to GRSP 79th session, discussion of upcoming meetings and workshops, and conclusion.

The IWG chair reviewed the 15th meeting to address strategic goals of equitable and overall enhanced protection of diverse populations in rear-end and frontal impacts, based on feedback from GRSP-78-07 and GRSP-78-08. Task forces are investigating submarining prevention, abdominal injury risks, Diffuse Axonal Injuries, lower extremity injuries, and neck injuries in frontal crashes, while considering occupants of different sizes, weights, shapes, and seat adjustments. Priorities include developing broader protection procedures over a range of scenarios and speeds rather than specific repeated requirements, with next steps involving prioritization and role definition within task forces before reporting to GRSP 79.

The 15th meeting of the UN GRSP IWG Equitable Occupant Protection was held on March 24, 2026, with 35 online participants. The agenda and minutes of the 14th meeting were approved. Two informal documents, GRSP-78-07 and GRSP-78-08, were presented to GRSP 78 and discussed. Three operational Task Forces on rear-end assessment, virtual crash testing, and frontal impact and restraint systems were reviewed. Each Task Force is invited to structure identified topics by prioritizing them and assigning a short, medium, or long-term horizon, and to map contributions within the Task Force clarifying roles and areas of expertise. The 16th IWG online meeting is scheduled for May 18, 10–12 CEST.

The tenth meeting of the Equitable Occupant Protection Task Force 2 on rear-end impact was held online on March 31, 2026, with 25 participants. The agenda was adopted and previous minutes were approved. The planned in-person workshop in Sweden was cancelled. An online workshop was agreed to be held June 29-30, 1200-1600 CEST both days, with an in-person workshop planned after summer.

The task force on rear impact assessment plans an online workshop June 29-30 from 1200-1600 CEST and an in-person workshop in conjunction with IRCOBI in September or later, possibly October at BASt. Topics include whether quasi-static testing in UN R17 is adequate. Presentations will cover evaluation of UN R17 whiplash protection tests using simulations, evaluation and development of regulations for whiplash protection in vehicle seats, injury criteria and biomechanical injury mechanisms, finite element models of the female Anthropomorphic Test Device, and future plans for Euro NCAP. Additional topics include rear row testing, low-speed impact testing, and improvement of certification processes for EvaRID and BioRID.

Two presentations were delivered to the task force: one on abdominal injury assessment using human body models in frontal sled simulations, examining seatbelt trauma and submarining effects; and another proposing a real-world frontal crash assessment matrix based on field data, advocating for morphed human body models to represent diverse occupant sizes and ages. Continued discussion on priorities and workshop planning were postponed to the next meeting on April 14, 2026.

The agenda for the 14th session of Task Force Virtual Crash Testing covers approval of agenda and minutes, review of a progress dashboard, and a proposal for virtual testing introduced by France. Discussion items include assessment of Human Model readiness at various timeframes and feedback from HBM4VT network stakeholders. The session concludes with next steps and scheduling.

The task force discussed assessment of Human Body Model (HBM) readiness timelines, adding skull fractures, lumbar spine, and general kinematics to evaluation criteria. The group identified injury metrics and data gaps for each body region. TU Graz will gather additional stakeholder feedback. The next meeting is scheduled for 13 April 2026.

The agenda of the 4th meeting of Task Force 4 Frontal Impact & Restraint System Requirements includes a review of the progress dashboard, presentations of updated studies on abdominal injuries and rear row, continued discussion on priorities, and planning for a workshop in Japan.

The EqOP Task Force 4 held its first meeting with 28 participants to discuss frontal impact and restraint system requirements. Key priorities include addressing submarining and abdominal injury risks across diverse body types and crash scenarios. The group discussed robust evaluation procedures, seat position variability, and multi-scenario testing. Participants agreed to conduct further accident analysis, collect robustness evaluation ideas, and establish topic priorities before the next meeting on January 28, 2026.

The document describes Euro NCAP’s H3 dummy model certification procedure (TB CP510) for virtual testing of frontal impacts starting in 2026. Three Hybrid III dummy sizes (5F, 50M, 95M) will be used. Certification involves three stages: Stage 1 covers mass, dimensions, and certification requirements; Stage 2 involves component load case testing (neck, thorax, knee); Stage 3 uses two full-scale sled configurations representing EU mid-size sedans at low and high severity levels. Specific ISO score targets are defined for head, torso, neck, spine, femur, and tibia measurements. Humanetics dummy models meet qualification requirements.

How could greater diversity in terms of representation of crashes and occupants be implemented in concerned crash safety regulations?

Summary of the task force workshop outcomes.

Svensson, Carlsson, Kullgren 31 March 2022.