Abstract
Front seat occupants can be catastrophically injured in vehicle collisions with large animals such as elk, cattle or moose. This paper will discuss general injury patterns observed in these impacts, as well as the general vehicle motions and interactions with the animals. Some manufacturers (i.e. Saab and Volvo) have developed tests and incorporated design considerations to deal with this injury threat. Primary failure modes will be identified from field research and discussed. Quasi-static test procedures will be documented. Additionally, insights gained from the failure modes in both field accidents and test vehicles were used to modify vehicles with simple alterations. The vehicles were then tested using the quasi-static procedure and demonstrated significant improvements in occupant protection and roof crush resistance.
