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Safety

World class Safety inspired by Real Life Experience

• Crash safety based on ‘real life’ research
• Rigid passenger compartment surrounded by deformable structures
• 'DynaCage' rollover protection with pop-up roll bars
• Front seats with fully integrated seat-belts
• Saab Active Head Restraints (SAHR)
• Adaptive front airbags
• Head/thorax side airbags mounted in front seats
• Maximum 5-star EuroNCAP crash safety rating
• Excellent driving safety with MBA,CBC, EBD and optional ESP®

Saab has a long tradition of successful work with car safety. In surveys of real-life accidents carried out by the US Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) and the Swedish insurance company, Folksam, Saab cars have consistently shown well, several times being ranked best in their segment. The 9-3 Convertible is also the first soft-top model to achieve EuroNCAP's maximum crash test rating, joining the Sport Sedan with 5 stars.

For Saab, car safety involves two key areas: crash safety (often called passive safety) and driving (or active) safety. The 9-3 Convertible features important advances in both areas.

Crash impact resistance benefits from the introduction of a series of new structural and occupant protection measures that have enabled engineers to increase safety levels for the 9-3 Convertible. In doing so, they have succeeded in meeting crash safety performance targets which are the same as those of the Sport Sedan.

Greatly improved chassis dynamics, including steering, brakes and lights, keep the driver even more in control and, therefore, less likely to be involved in or better able to avoid an accident.

Driving safety is advanced further by the adoption of MBA (Mechanical Brake Assist) and a full arsenal of electronic aids including CBC (Cornering Brake Control) and EBD (Electronic Brake force Distribution) as standard and an optional ESP® (Electronic Stability Program). These systems are described in the Chassis section.

The Saab Comsense function (described in the Interior Features section) also plays a role in improving driving safety by minimizing the potential for driver distraction through the operation of 'dynamic workload management'.

Crash Safety based on ‘Real Life’ research
Computer simulations and crash testing at Saab are designed to replicate what happens in real collisions on real roads, based on the findings of a database covering more than 6,100 real-life accidents, including the Saab 9-3 and Saab 9-5, on Swedish roads.

During the Saab 9-3 product development program, the structural design of the car and the deployment of its occupant protection systems were evaluated not only in consumer and legally required crash tests, but also in a large number of additional in-house configurations, taking occupants of different sizes into consideration. Prototype tests were carried out in the laboratory and outdoors in a wide range of speeds and configurations.

However, advanced crash simulations, using finite element methods (FEM) and drawing on Saab's extensive experience, help to find solutions before any prototypes are built. Support by simulation is used throughout the development process in structural design, as well as for the tuning of occupant protection systems, such as seat-belts and airbags. As a result, crash tests are increasingly used as a physical means of verifying what is already known.

For the Convertible, Saab also helped to pioneer the world’s most comprehensive rollover crash test program, involving eight different configurations that account for most instances of this relatively rare type of road accident.

Rigid Safety Structure
At the heart of the 9-3 Convertible is a steel safety structure fabricated mainly from high strength steel that is designed to protect the passenger compartment. Most beam sections are completely closed for additional strength and all joints are designed to help prevent tearing under severe impacts.

Compared to the sedan, additional reinforcement elements include: the A-pillars and windscreen header rail, the front and rear seat cross-members, the introduction of a substantial torsion box between the rear wheel housings and enlarged side sills.

The front and rear crumple zones are made of carefully shaped steel members designed to help absorb, distribute and deflect impact energy away from the passenger compartment.

Three distinct load paths on each side of the front structure are designed to help to channel impact forces through the front sub-frame, along the longitudinal members and through the upper rail into the A-pillar. The longitudinal members have large sections that extend right through the floor of the car as far as the rear seat. This design is a development of the concept first seen on the Saab 9-5.

The three load paths are connected transversely via cross-members, the most important of which is the front bumper beam. This helps distribute impact forces across and through the front structure, to help provide a controlled and predictable deformation in a wide range of frontal collisions. The beam is made from boron alloy steel, up to six times stronger than plain steel with a very high yield strength of 900 Newtons per square millimeter.

To help provide side impact protection, engineers have developed the lower B-pillars, the side sills and door beams to behave as a single, integrated structure, increasing the likelihood of deformation in a controlled and predictable manner. In side impacts with narrow objects, such as a tree or lamp post, the role of the door beams is particularly important.

At the rear, two more longitudinal members are designed to buckle and deform in a progressive manner to help protect the passenger compartment in a rear-end collision. They also assist in dissipating crash energy towards the lower body structure. The fuel tank is also mounted low down in front of the rear axle, away from any likely point of impact.

DynaCage Rollover Protection
Although rollovers are a comparatively rare event, the consequences are often serious and Saab has installed an 'active' protection system in the 9-3 Convertible. The DynaCage concept combines pop-up rear roll bars, seat-belt pre-tensioning in all seating positions and substantial reinforcement of the A-pillars and side sills to help provide an integrated protection system.

The two spring-loaded rollover bars are recessed behind the rear head restraints and are made from aluminum alloy for low mass, to aid quick deployment, and high strength. They are mounted inside the car’s torsion box and released by a small pyrotechnic charge when the car’s central sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) detects the onset of a rollover. The SDM is programmed to have the bars deployed and locked in position by the time the car is at 90 degrees to the ground. Just as important, all four seat-belt pre-tensioners are activated at the same time, to firmly locate any belted occupants in their seats.

Integrated front seat-belts
Despite the use of airbags, seat-belts are still the single most important restraint system in any car and the front occupants of the 9-3 Convertible benefit from the first integrated belt system to be fitted by Saab.

The seat-belt is mounted entirely on the frame of the front seats. As there are no B-pillar or floor fixings, the belt’s geometry is optimized irrespective of the seat position. The belts are also easier to reach and the top mounting in the seat back ensures a closer fit over the shoulder without prejudicing seating comfort.

As the entire belt system is attached to it, the seat is mounted on a special U-shaped platform welded into the floor, which is designed to withstand extremely high loadings.

Saab Active Head Restraints (SAHR)
Saab Active head restraints (SAHR) are fitted as standard to the front seats. Crash investigation findings published by the Journal of Trauma, and comparative tests by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Thatcham insurance center in the UK, have shown the SAHR to be extremely effective in helping to prevent serious neck injury to front seat occupants in the event of a rear-end collision.

The Journal of Trauma published a Saab study that found a remarkable 75 per cent reduction in severe neck injuries when comparing Saab cars fitted with the SAHR against older Saab models not having the system.The system is entirely mechanical and is activated as soon as the occupant's lower back is pressed into the seatback by the effect of inertia during a collision from the rear. A pad in the seat-back is linked to lever which is designed to push the head restraint up and forwards towards the occupant's head, helping to minimize head movement relative to the torso.

After activation, the head restraint immediately springs back to its passive position ready for further use.in case there is a possible second impact.

Adaptive Front Airbags
Dual stage, front airbags are designed to help provide an 'occupant-friendly' deployment in frontal impacts.

Two sensors in the front bumper beam detect impact severity, a sensor in the seat track communicates seating positions and a switch in the seat-belt buckles indicates whether or not the belts are being worn. This data is sent to the centrally located SDM which, within milliseconds, chooses between activation of the belt pre-tensioners alone, or in combination with a stage 1 or stage 2 inflation of the airbags.

A collision with a relatively low level of impact energy would, for example, likely require less airbag pressure and, therefore, a slower rate of inflation than a more severe, high energy impact. A short driver sitting close to the steering wheel also benefits from a softer, lower pressure inflation.

Head/thorax side airbags
Front seat occupants are provided with additional side impact protection by the installation of airbags in the outer edge of each front seat-back, which ensures the airbag will always be well placed irrespective of the seat position.

The airbag has two chambers, one to protect the thorax, or chest, and the other to safeguard the head. In a heavy impact, the lower section inflates first and air is then pushed into the upper section for the head. The airbag has been specially developed to meet the requirements of the Convertible.

Seat-belts and Reminder System
All four seat-belts have pre-tensioning and load limiting functions to help remove belt slack and reduce loadings on the body in severe crashes. The pre-tensioners are mounted on the belt retractor and activated by a signal from the airbag sensing system, which ignites a small pyrotechnic charge to retract the belt.

The load limiting function consists of a torsion bar inside the retractor that, at a pre-determined load level, will start to deform and thus help reduce the belt load and ease the strain on the occupant’s body.

Saab has used a seat-belt reminder function since 1974 and, to further emphasize the importance of belt usage, the system in the 9-3 range independently informs and reminds the driver and the front passenger of non belt usage.

Occupant-friendly interior
A great deal of experience has gone into making the interior surfaces and materials more ‘occupant-friendly’. In particular, the front areas of the cabin near the knee and lower leg are well bolstered to help prevent occupant injury. The driver’s pedals are also designed to break away in a severe impact and the steering column is collapsible.

Passenger safety is the main reason why interior armrests and inner door handles are recessed. It is also one of the reasons why the 9-3 Convertible, in common with most other Saab cars, has a floor-mounted ignition switch, well away from sensitive knee and leg areas.

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