ISO TR 21934-1-2021 PDF

Full title and description

Road vehicles — Prospective safety performance assessment of pre-crash technology by virtual simulation — Part 1: State-of-the-art and general method overview. This technical report describes current (state‑of‑the‑art) prospective methods for assessing the safety performance of vehicle‑integrated active safety (pre‑crash) technologies using virtual simulation and provides a general overview of the recommended approach for such assessments.

Abstract

The report explains how virtual (computer) simulation can be used to predict how vehicle‑integrated pre‑crash safety technologies will perform in real traffic, focusing on system‑level assessment (not individual components) and on crash‑avoidance and consequence‑mitigation. It addresses input data, modelling elements (vehicle, technology, environment, traffic), evaluation objectives and baseline/treatment approaches, and is intended as a reference for stakeholders across the technology lifecycle.

General information

• Status: Published.
• Publication date: June 2021 (published 2021‑06).
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• ICS / categories: 43.020 — Road vehicles in general.
• Edition / version: Edition 1 (First edition, 2021).
• Number of pages: 43 pages (official ISO record).

Scope

The document provides a state‑of‑the‑art overview and a general method for prospective safety performance assessment of vehicle‑integrated pre‑crash technologies using virtual simulation. It is limited to on‑board (vehicle‑integrated) technologies and focuses on crash avoidance and mitigation (not in‑crash or post‑crash systems). The method is applicable at multiple stages of technology development and post‑market assessment and is intended for a broad set of stakeholders (manufacturers, regulators, insurers, consumer test organisations, researchers).

Key topics and requirements

• Definition of evaluation objectives and establishment of baseline (without technology) and treatment (with technology) approaches.
• Identification and specification of input data types: active safety technology data, accident/accident‑scenario data, naturalistic driving and field operational data, infrastructure and traffic information, controlled‑test data.
• Simulation implementation elements: simulation framework, tools, and required simulation models (vehicle, safety technology, environment, traffic situations).
• Metrics and outcome measures for prospective safety performance (selection, interpretation and reporting guidance).
• Recommendations for documentation, verification and validation of models and simulation chains to support credible, comparable assessments.

Typical use and users

Used by vehicle manufacturers, safety system developers, research institutions, regulators, insurers, and consumer test organisations to estimate the expected real‑world safety contribution of pre‑crash systems before or after market introduction. Typical applications include R&D evaluation, comparative performance studies, regulatory or policy impact assessments, and input to broader risk or benefit analyses.

Related standards

Part 1 provides the state‑of‑the‑art foundation and is complemented by Part 2 (ISO/TS 21934‑2:2024), which gives guidelines and application requirements to achieve comparable results across studies and tools. Other related ISO technical reports and specifications that are commonly referenced in this domain include ISO/TR 21974‑1 (naturalistic driving studies vocabulary / safety‑critical events) and various ISO/TC 22 outputs on automated driving and safety evaluation.

Keywords

pre‑crash, active safety, virtual simulation, prospective assessment, road vehicles, crash avoidance, safety performance, simulation models, ISO/TC 22.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO/TR 21934‑1:2021 is an ISO technical report that summarizes the state‑of‑the‑art and provides a general methodological overview for prospective safety performance assessment of vehicle‑integrated pre‑crash technologies using virtual simulation.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers the objectives and baseline setup for assessments, types of input data, recommended simulation elements (framework, tools and models), metrics and reporting considerations, and validation/verification guidance for conducting virtual simulation‑based prospective assessments of crash avoidance and mitigation technologies. It excludes off‑board technologies and focuses on system‑level evaluations.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Vehicle OEMs, active safety system developers, test organisations, regulators, insurers, and research groups conducting or commissioning prospective simulation studies to estimate safety impact.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: ISO/TR 21934‑1:2021 is the published first‑edition technical report (June 2021). It remains a current reference for the state‑of‑the‑art; related normative/application guidance has been developed subsequently (for example ISO/TS 21934‑2:2024) to provide more prescriptive application requirements. Users should check for any later revisions or complementary documents when planning assessments.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — it is Part 1 (state‑of‑the‑art and general overview) of a series addressing prospective safety performance assessment of pre‑crash technologies by virtual simulation; Part 2 (ISO/TS 21934‑2:2024) provides guidelines and requirements for application.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Pre‑crash, prospective assessment, virtual simulation, active safety, crash avoidance, simulation models, evaluation metrics, baseline/treatment, ISO/TC 22.