SAE J3027_201611

This SAE Recommended Practice describes the testing procedures required to evaluate the integrity of a ground ambulance-based patient litter, litter retention system, and patient restraint when exposed to a frontal, side or rear impact. Its purpose is to provide litter manufacturers, ambulance builders, and end-users with testing procedures and, where appropriate, acceptance criteria that, to a great extent ensures the patient litter, litter retention system, and patient restraint utilizes a similar dynamic performance test methodology to that which is applied to other vehicle seating and occupant restraint systems. Descriptions of the test set-up, test instrumentation, photographic/video coverage, test fixture, and performance metrics are included. This revision of the Recommended Practice adds a requirement to conduct rear impact testing of the patient cot, cot mount and occupant restraint utilizing the pulse curve described in SAE J3044. In addition, this revision deletes the requirement to utilize an instrumented anthropomorphic test device, or ATD, as the existing pass fail criteria does not rely on the measurement of ATD data. An instrumented ATD may be used at the discretion of component manufacturer(s).