• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.82 no.2
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• pp.233-244
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• 2022

Following a loss of control, the impact against a road barrier in a turn predominates among the most severe motorcyclist accidents. These road restraint devices can be equipped with a motorcycle screen, the function of which is to restrain the rider and minimize the consequences of the impact in terms of the severity of injuries. The performance of these screens is evaluated by the European normative procedure EN1317-8, which specifies the test conditions, based on one or two configurations. In practice, however, these impact conditions are very diverse, difficult to extrapolate from accident analysis and therefore poorly investigated. This study is interested in improving knowledge of these impact conditions in terms of impact speed, impact angle and particularly position of the rider. A finite element model has been developed to simulate the dynamic behavior of the rider from loss of control to impact on the screen. Statistical analysis of the results shows a high variability of the impact conditions, in particular with regard to the direction of turn (to the right or to the left). Some improvements are suggested in order to overcome the limitations inherent in standard procedures.