This report documents the test procedures followed and the test results from one broadside crash test between a Chevrolet C2500 pickup truck and a FOIL 300K rigid pole. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has invested many resources in the development of finite element models (FEM) of passenger vehicles, pickup trucks, and roadside safety hardware. Computer simulations using these FEM's of collisions between the vehicles and roadside safety hardware are used to investigate the behavior of and improve the safety performance of roadside safety hardware. An essential step for developing the FEM is to validate the models by comparing data from simulation output with data collected from full-scale vehicle crash tests with roadside safety hardware. The FHWA's Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory (FOIL) was used to conduct this rigid pole test to provide side-impact crush characteristics of the Chevrolet C2500 pickup.
This report (FHWA-RD-98-081) contains test data, photographs taken with high-speed film, and a summary of the test results. The target test speed for this test was 35 km/h.
This report will be of interest to all State departments of transportation; FHWA headquarters; region and division personnel; and highway safety researchers interested in the crashworthiness of roadside safety hardware.
A. George Ostensen, Director
Office of Safety and Traffic
Operations Research and Development
This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.
The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade and manufacturers' names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the object of the document.