ISO/TR 21934-1:2021

Overview - ISO/TR 21934-1:2021 (Prospective safety performance by virtual simulation)

ISO/TR 21934-1:2021 is a technical report that presents the state-of-the-art and a general method overview for prospective safety performance assessment of vehicle-integrated pre-crash technologies using virtual simulation. The document defines a transparent, reproducible approach to predict how Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and other active safety technologies will perform in real traffic before or after market introduction. It focuses on the system-level performance of vehicle-integrated technologies (not off-board systems) and on accident avoidance and consequence mitigation across vehicle types (passenger cars, two‑wheelers, heavy goods vehicles).

Key topics and technical requirements

The report structures a comprehensive assessment process and highlights the following technical elements:

• Evaluation objective & baseline - define scope, metrics and the baseline (no-technology) scenario for treatment vs. baseline comparison.
• Input data requirements - accident databases, naturalistic driving and field operation data, infrastructure and traffic data, and controlled test inputs.
• Virtual simulation framework - recommended architecture for simulation studies, including tool selection, scenario management and experimental control.
• Simulation models - modular models for vehicle dynamics, safety technology behavior, environment, traffic situations, driver behaviour, and collision mechanics.
• Estimating safety performance - methods to quantify effects (avoidance, mitigation) from baseline/treatment simulations.
• Validation & verification - procedures to verify models and validate simulation outputs against real-world evidence.
• Practical experience & limitations - lessons learned, comparative tool studies, and boundaries (e.g., not covering in-crash/post-crash systems).
• Outlook - considerations for automated driving and V2X technologies as future extensions.

Applications and who uses it

ISO/TR 21934-1 is intended as a reference for stakeholders conducting prospective assessments of pre-crash safety technologies by virtual simulation:

• Vehicle manufacturers and suppliers for design validation and pre-market safety claims.
• Research institutes and academia for method development and comparative studies.
• Regulators and road authorities to inform policy and safety evaluation frameworks.
• Insurers and consumer rating organisations for estimating technology benefits and fleet impacts.
• Test labs and simulation tool vendors for implementing standardized simulation approaches.

Practical applications include technology development lifecycle testing, pre-market impact studies, post-market assessments using virtual scenarios, and comparative evaluations of ADAS features.

Related standards and initiatives

• Part of the ISO 21934 series and developed under ISO/TC 22 (Road vehicles), SC 36 (Safety and impact testing).
• Builds on collaborative work from the P.E.A.R.S. initiative (Prospective Effectiveness Assessment for Road Safety).

For authoritative text and purchase, consult the ISO website or your national standards body for ISO/TR 21934-1:2021.