A low-cost method of evaluating seatbelt anchorages for low-volume vehicles (M1, M2 and M3). Final Report

The public's attitude towards seatbelts and other vehicle safety systems has become more positive as the savings from compulsory seatbelt wearing in cars have become obvious. Recent changes in safety legislation now require many large passenger-carrying road vehicles such as minibuses, buses and coaches to be fitted with seatbelts. Changes have also been made to the UK Construction and Use Regulations to require that a sample of each new type or model of low-volume vehicle be subjected to the regulatory destructive test to gain anchorage approval. However, because there is currently no evidence that untested anchorages have a high failure rate, as an interim measure, simple low-cost approval methods have been introduced for some types of vehicle produced in low volumes. These measures are pragmatic simplified rules often resulting in a high factor of safety; however, they have a number of limitations. Because of this the UK Department for Transport has contracted TRL Limited to develop effective low-cost approval methods for seatbelt anchorages in vehicles produced in low volumes. This report describes the investigation into alternative approval methods for the different types of vehicles.