[3] As with the location of other automotive design "hard points," the H-point has major ramifications in the overall vehicle design, including roof height, aerodynamics, handling (especially at highway speeds), visibility (both within the vehicle and from the vehicle into traffic), seating comfort,[4] driver fatigue, ease of entry and exit,[4] interior packaging, safety, restraint and airbag design and collision performance.
[3] By the early 2000s there had been a global trend toward higher H-points relative to both the road surface and the vehicle's interior floor.
Sports cars and vehicles with higher aerodynamic considerations, by contrast, may employ lower H-points relative to the road surface.
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has adopted tools for vehicle design, including statistical models for predicting driver eye location and seat position as well as an H-point mannequin for measuring seats and interior package geometry.
Occupant posture-prediction models are used in computer simulations and form the basis for crash test dummy positioning.