Ingress Clearance Requirements and Seat Positioning for Automatic Belt Systems

摘要

The purposes of this study were (1) to determine how much clearance between a seat belt and seat cushion is needed for a driver to enter the front seat of an automobile equipped with automatic seat belts---without his/her having to lift the webbing, and (2) to derive data regarding where driver prefer to--and therefore realistically would--position themselves with relation to the steering wheel and pedal controls. Based on subjects representative of the 5th, 50th and 95th percentile, a clearance envelope for acceptable ingress/egress clearance was determined and a compliance test procedure recommended. Using these same subjects, their preferred seating positions are essentially those for which they were designed, i.e., 5th percentile females position the seat as far forward as it will go; the general 50th percentile group place the seat about midway between fore and aft extremes, and the 95th percentile males almost invariably position the seat as far aft as it will go.