ISO 6813:1998

Overview

ISO 6813:1998 - "Road vehicles - Collision classification - Terminology" is an ISO terminology standard that defines terms used to classify road vehicle collisions, with emphasis on collision configuration. It provides consistent language and measurement conventions for describing accident events (single vs multiple), non-collision events (e.g., overturn), collision types (frontal, side, rear), and configuration variables such as collision angle, axis alignment, offset, and overlap. Annex A is informative.

Key Topics

• Road vehicle accident event: distinguishes single-event and multiple-event accidents (sequence of events).
• Non-collision events: examples include overturn (defined as the vehicle rolling at least 90°).
• Collision definition and configuration: collision characterized by:
  • Collision type (e.g., frontal between two vehicles, frontal with obstacle, side, rear)
  • Collision angle - measurement conventions:
    • Between two vehicles: angle measured between their vertical longitudinal zero planes, measured 0°–180° (indicating left or right) starting from the vehicle that defines the collision type.
    • Between a vehicle and an obstacle: angle measured between vehicle longitudinal plane and the plane perpendicular to the obstacle surface at the contact point.
  • Axis alignment - whether main planes of participants coincide; non-aligned collisions are offset.
• Offset vs overlap:
  • Offset: distance measured perpendicular between main planes (expressed as a distance).
  • Overlap: area/portion of vehicle front/side/rear involved; can be given as distance or percent. Percentage overlap for front/rear impacts should be based on vehicle width (excluding side mirrors) and for side impacts on vehicle length (per ISO 612).
  • Standard warns against misuse of terms (e.g., saying “30% offset” instead of “offset with 30% overlap”).
• Impact factors: impact type, principal force, and deformation are identified as characteristics of impacts; related classification examples referenced from SAE J224 (cars) and SAE J1301 (trucks).

Applications

ISO 6813 is used where consistent, unambiguous collision descriptions are required:

• Accident reconstruction and forensic analysis
• Vehicle safety design and crashworthiness research
• Crash data collection, reporting and databases
• Regulatory compliance, standards harmonization, and safety policy
• Insurance loss assessment and road safety research

Typical users: automotive engineers, accident investigators, traffic safety researchers, regulators, insurers, and standards developers.

Related Standards

• ISO 12353-1 (road vehicle accidents - additional terms)
• ISO 612:1978 (vehicle dimensions - terms)
• ISO 4130:1978 (3D reference system)
• ISO 6549 (driver R-point / H-point procedures - revision referenced)
• SAE J224, SAE J1301 (impact classification examples)

Keywords: ISO 6813, collision classification, road vehicle collisions, collision terminology, collision angle, offset, overlap, impact type, accident reconstruction.