This article is a description of the construction of dummies used in crash tests of vehicles. Dummies are classified according to their use in different types of crash tests. The noticeable improvement in the construction of dummies, their properties and similarity to humans man, is clearly visible referring to first dummies with modern ones

The following article presents a brief overview of research regarding driver behaviour in simulated situations of accident risk. The research carried out within a research work N N509 549 040 included an accident situation involving the sudden intrusion of a pedestrian into the road area from behind a curtain either from the left or right side. This paper presents and analyses a variety of registered driver behaviours to simulated risk accident situations and drivers’ reaction parameters

The article sets forth the new concept of structure of the Stirling engine. Specific realizations of that idea have been discussed. The modification consists in replacing the crank system with the cam mechanism. As a result, the stages of heating and cooling of working gas are longer and transitory stages are shorter. The aim is to obtain higher efficiency in relation to the already existing solutions and to simplify the engine structure. The visualisation of its structure and the principle of operation have been presented. The proper shaping of the cam mechanism allowed for the change of the significant parameters influencing its efficiency. The use of such type of engine allows for the use of heat energy lost in many technological processes and installations.

The following paper presents an analysis of the number of accidents, injuries and deaths over the last years. Accident trends have been identified in Poland with reference to different seasons. It includes an analysis of statistical data on both the number of vehicles, type of accidents occurring on roads and their causes. The evaluation of the road accidents’ effects has been carried out

The paper presents the technical assumptions and the design of a testbed suitable for conducting experimental tests of gearboxes. In the case of drivetrain assemblies, most often they are built on testbeds, much more seldom in vehicles. Experimental tests constitute a broad field due to the differentiation of functions of individual assemblies and their components in the drivetrain system of cars and machines. Conducting simulation tests (on simulation testbeds) consists in the possibly faithful recreation of real operating conditions of an assembly in a vehicle. The testbeds for such tests are complex and expensive but the obtained results are more reliable and more precisely, than in the case of other methods, take into consideration the impact of different operating loads on the durability of the research object. Due to the extent of the topic, this study is only the introduction to the design work whose aim is to prepare the design of a testbed.

The article presents the analysis of the impact of the safety belt used onto a man sitting in a chair. The tests were conducted for small-speed collisions for three centile groups: 5, 50 and 95-centile group respectively. Each of those groups comprised men between 20 to 35 years of age. The tests were conducted on the inclined plane type device simulating the collision of a vehicle with the speed of approx. 12 km/h. Three types of safety belts were used for the tests: two point, three-point and four-point belts. The results of analyses are presented in this article.

The road safety is affected by several factors quality of infrastructure, behaviour of drivers, including their proper training and also safe cars. For the safety of vehicles in the approving process a number of regulations (regulatory acts) apply, regulating the technical requirements in the active and passive vehicle safety, but also in the environment. In the area of technical requirements for vehicles and their parts significant changes occur constantly, mainly due the progressive technological developments. A large number of regulatory acts are often changed due to the tightening. These regulatory acts relates directly to manufacturers, because their manufactured vehicles have to meet these requirements. That these regulatory instruments are evolving in the right direction proved the fact that due to better road safety the number of fatal accidents in the last two decades shrunk, although the volume of traffic has tripled. A significant progress has been achieved only through the improved vehicle safety and only in a small measure thanks to the improvement and upgrading of the infrastructure.

The issue of passive safety of pregnant women travelling by car has been discussed. The pregnant woman’s body has been considered as a complex dynamic system subject to various impacts that take place during a car ride. In the field of motorization, much attention is paid (and rightly so) to the issue of safety of pregnant women travelling by car in consideration of road accidents. Motor vehicle accidents are the most important cause of death of pregnant women, according to data published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In the USA, about 130 000 pregnant women being in the second half of their pregnancy are annually involved in motor vehicle accidents. In this paper, some example solutions have been presented that are to improve the passive safety of riding in a motor car, including those proposed to minimize the injuries that may be sustained in result of an accident. The issue of the possible negative effects of a road accident or collision on a pregnant woman has also been raised. The application of virtual techniques has been discussed and examples of modelling a pregnant woman have been shown. Some research results concerning the deceleration values that might be dangerous for pregnant women have been given, with reference having been made to statistical data on fatal accidents.

This paper describes the engineering design for a facility to test the performance of gearboxes and drive axles. Power transmission units are much more frequently tested on test rigs than in motor vehicles. The rig testing of such devices constitutes a very complex area because of the diversity of functions performed by individual components and their parts in the power transmission systems of motor vehicles and construction machinery. In the simulation tests carried out on simulation test rigs, the conditions of testing of individual units should match the expected conditions of operation for such units as much as possible. The test rigs used for this purpose are very complicated and expensive, but the results of rig tests are more reliable and accurate than they would be if other test methods were employed. The rig tests described here reflect the impact of anticipated service loads on the endurance of the unit under test.