Vehicle Shape Influence on Virtual Forward Simulation of Car Crashes

Vehicle Shape Influence on Virtual Forward Simulation of Car Crashes | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Vehicle Shape Influence on Virtual Forward Simulation of Car Crashes Michelangelo-Santo Gulino, Giulio Vichi, Gianmarco Aiazzi, Dario Vangi This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8262274/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The progressive deployment of active safety systems requires precise tools to assess collision mitigation performance. Virtual Forward Simulation (VFS) plays a pivotal role in the prospective assessment of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Reliable VFS routines depend on validated models capable of simulating driving dynamics and accurately resolving collision mechanics when ADAS interventions fail to prevent impact. However, in accident reconstruction practice, software tools often do not include the exact geometries of the vehicles involved. As a result, when graphical data is compiled for detailed accident records, vehicle shapes are typically represented in a simplified way. This means that VFS, when used to evaluate ADAS performance, relies on simplified vehicle shapes as input. Such simplifications can have unpredictable effects on the accuracy of impact simulations. This study examines how vehicle shape influences the reliability of 2D car-to-car collision simulations A validated special-purpose VFS tool, based on a Reduced Order Dynamic Model (RODM), was used to simulate road collisions using progressively simplified vehicle geometries. The simulations were statistically analyzed and verified through a case study based on real-world accidents. The analysis highlights the drawbacks of simplified shapes for both ADAS evaluation and reconstruction accuracy. Findings indicate that while simpler collision models remain insensitive to geometric variations, vehicle shape exerts a significant influence on advanced VFS models. Therefore, when utilizing advanced methodologies like RODM, incorporating detailed and realistic vehicle geometries is essential. Neglecting this leads to a significant underestimation of key parameters, specifically Delta-V (by more than 5 km/h) and occupant injury risk (by up to 60% in real-world scenarios). Virtual Forward Simulation ADAS assessment accident reconstruction vehicle geometry delta-V injury risk Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 17 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 16 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 02 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 09 Dec, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 02 Dec, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 02 Dec, 2025 First submitted to journal 02 Dec, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8262274","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":558984203,"identity":"ae8681f7-28b5-4bf3-aa7c-344d61b75e11","order_by":0,"name":"Michelangelo-Santo Gulino","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Florence","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Michelangelo-Santo","middleName":"","lastName":"Gulino","suffix":""},{"id":558984204,"identity":"a7956ccc-3b1e-41e6-a88b-cb7664b8182c","order_by":1,"name":"Giulio Vichi","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA4ElEQVRIie3PoQ7CMBAG4FuaFNOgp+grQCbB8xqtAUMWEswEYoSkOHgBAs+AQXdpghrvQB8BV8l1EwRBAYfob+7S9sv1AGJi/jEEEi2wUmCgRYENqUoQYQJPcquxoRJJ0CBpC4PEKo/98wDhY9bXtwLktnOttDyYvEtJCda9JwODRNQgFcuFlmezoDQJf2ywRiIVZDT1zdlIxVc/kT2ST1M4aUmvJeUXpE/oHHdJe5TNcKnLtCFaTAJTduZkXTFifFNnd7ccyqPqWOtGgSm6KenrqX4PcEoZuo2JiYmJ8XkALAJQoLHyyUsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"University of Florence","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Giulio","middleName":"","lastName":"Vichi","suffix":""},{"id":558984205,"identity":"358a287a-9cab-4b48-95b6-8748d2027d04","order_by":2,"name":"Gianmarco Aiazzi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Florence","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gianmarco","middleName":"","lastName":"Aiazzi","suffix":""},{"id":558984206,"identity":"d6ea4a1d-97e6-4907-939e-9d5327242394","order_by":3,"name":"Dario Vangi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Florence","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dario","middleName":"","lastName":"Vangi","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-12-02 15:38:03","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8262274/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8262274/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":98056268,"identity":"ea62bac8-48ad-475c-a9c3-18aec2ac2999","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-12 10:05:42","extension":"json","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":6313,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"0377fd43868f4b47a66d2d84fbf1880f.json","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8262274/v1/b55c7ce099e6cc34f530d36a.json"},{"id":98427986,"identity":"1eeb43d6-e409-4636-86a8-243e541396a3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-17 16:41:28","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":7065351,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"VEHICLESHAPEINFLUENCEINCARCRASHSIMULATIONS.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8262274/v1_covered_b139e7b3-17e6-40ba-aa57-d98cb15683e1.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Vehicle Shape Influence on Virtual Forward Simulation of Car Crashes","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-king-saud-university-engineering-sciences","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences](https://link.springer.com/journal/44444)","snPcode":"44444","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/44444/3","title":"Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Open","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Virtual Forward Simulation, ADAS assessment, accident reconstruction, vehicle geometry, delta-V, injury risk","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8262274/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8262274/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The progressive deployment of active safety systems requires precise tools to assess collision mitigation performance. 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