ISO 11096:2011

Overview

ISO 11096:2011 - Road vehicles - Pedestrian protection - Impact test method for pedestrian thigh, leg and knee specifies a standardized laboratory method to simulate a lateral impact between the front of a passenger car (or light truck derived from passenger cars) and an adult pedestrian’s lower limb. The standard focuses on reducing thigh, leg and knee injuries by defining the legform impactor, test site, propulsion, test conditions and measurement requirements. It is not applicable to other body regions, children, human soft tissue assessment, or vehicles with deployable pedestrian‑activation devices.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Legform impactor design
  • Based on a 50th percentile adult male; cylindrical shape with outer diameter 120 ± 10 mm and simulated flesh/skin thickness 30 ± 5 mm.
  • Overall mass 13.4 ± 0.1 kg (thigh 8.6 ± 0.1 kg, leg 4.8 ± 0.1 kg).
  • Leg length (to knee center) 493 ± 5 mm; thigh length 428 ± 5 mm; specified moments of inertia and centers of gravity.
  • Knee joint with deformable elements; biofidelic performance targets are given (Annex A) and certification procedures are in Annex B.
• Propulsion and kinematics
  • Impactor is propelled in free flight to strike a stationary vehicle; propulsion method is at the test lab’s discretion.
  • Trajectory tolerance: parallel to ground within ±6° at impact; angular velocity < 50°/s.
  • Impact velocity measured during free flight; test device must withstand up to 5.5 m/s; velocity accuracy ±0.1 m/s.
• Test set‑up and conditions
  • Flat, hard impact test site; vehicle prepared as complete or cut‑body with correct ride height and mass distribution.
  • Impactor temperature 20 ± 5 °C (or narrower to meet performance limits).
  • Impact points selected between front face corners; atmospheric conditions recorded.
• Measurements
  • Data acquisition per ISO 6487; specific channels (e.g., valgus angle, bending moment) defined for the legform impactor.

Applications and users

• Vehicle manufacturers and design engineers assessing pedestrian protection performance of front-end designs.
• Automotive safety test laboratories performing standardized leg impact tests for research, development or regulatory programs.
• Regulators and policy makers seeking reproducible test methods for establishing pedestrian‑safety requirements.
• Suppliers of active and passive front‑end components aiming to reduce lower-limb injury risk.

Related standards

• ISO 3833 - vehicle types and definitions
• ISO 6487 - instrumentation/data acquisition in impact tests
• ISO/TR 15766 - biofidelity targets for pedestrian‑leg test devices
• ISO 1176, ISO 3784 - masses and velocity measurement references

Keywords: ISO 11096:2011, pedestrian protection, legform impactor, pedestrian thigh leg knee, road vehicles, impact test method, leg impact test.