Vehicle internal design improvement guidelines by using the computational pregnant occupant model 'expecting'

New interior designs for vehicles may improve the safety of pregnant occupants without compromising the safety of non-pregnant occupants. The objective of this study is to investigate the implications of the steering wheel unit orientation by using ‘Expecting’, the Computational Pregnant Occupant Model developed at Loughborough University. Three steering column angles and three steering wheel angles are modelled in a subcompact mini-car interior in MADYMO. A standard 3-point seat belt and an airbag are used as restraint systems. The strain values at the placental location of the uterus of ‘Expecting’ for frontal impacts with 15, 30, 45 kph are predicted for various steering wheel unit configurations and the resulting distance between the steering wheel unit and the abdomen and sternum of ‘Expecting’. Recommendations are made to improve safety.