School staff
Personal profile
Alan graduated with a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Birmingham in 1998.
After working at the Birmingham Accident Research Centre, on the feasibility study for on scene investigation in the UK, he joined the Transport Safety Research Centre at Loughborough University in September 1999.
Since joining the TSRC, Alan has worked on several European projects, ECBOS (Enhanced Coach and Bus Occupant Safety), ROLLOVER, CHILD (Child Injury Led Design) and TRACE (TRaffic Accident Causation in Europe).
He has also worked on projects for the UK Department for Transport such as Airbag Effectiveness and carried out research using the On-the–Spot (OTS) real world accident data.
Alan currently manages the centre’s contribution to the CASPER (Child Advanced Safety Project for European Roads) project, a European funded activity concerned with child occupant safety in Europe.
Research
Research Group: Transport Safety Research Centre.
- Special Occupants In Vehicles
- Accident Causation Analysis
- Crashworthiness
- Real world crash investigation
Alan's current principal research activity is in the area of in-car child safety, examining both child restraints in accidents and consumer issues leading to misuse.
The TSRC are involved in the European CASPER (Child Advanced Safety Project for European Roads) project.
Featured publications
- Kirk, A.R. et al., TRACE (Traffic Accident Causation in Europe) Deliverable 8.1 - Final Work Package Co-ordinators Report - Data Supply. EC TRACE Project Report (2007).
- Kirk, A.R., Grant, R.H., Lesire, P. and Johansson, M., ''CHILD: analysis of CHILD data related to frontal impacts'', Protection of children in cars, TUV 4th International Conference, 7-8 December, Munich, Germany (2006).
- Kirk, A.R., Grant, R.H., Lesire, P., Johansson, M. and Tejera, G., Deliverable 12A CHILD (Child Injury Led Design) "Overview of the CHILD accident database and analysis", European Commission (2006).
- Kirk, A.R., Frampton, R.J. and Thomas, P.D., ''An Evaluation of Airbag Benefits/Disbenefits in European Vehicles - A Combined Statistical and Case Study'', Proceedings of the 2002 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact, 18-20 September, Munich, Germany (2002).