Occupant injuries in light passenger vehicles-A NASS study to enable priorities for development of injury prediction capabilities of human body models.

To prioritize how the development of mathematical human body models for injury prediction in crash safety analysis should be made, the most frequent injuries in the NASS CDS data from 2000 to 2015 were analyzed. The crashes were divided into seven types, from front to side. Non-minor injuries (AIS2+) were analyzed in two steps. In the first step, a grouping was made according to the AIS definition of body regions: head, face, neck, thorax, abdomen and pelvic contents, spine, upper extremities (including shoulder girdle) and lower extremities (including pelvis). In a second step, the body regions were divided in organs, parts of the spine, and parts of the extremities. The three most often injured anatomical structures of each body region were estimated for drivers and front seat passengers in each type of crash. For drivers, an injury risk greater than 2.4 % was found for the lower extremities (pelvis) and the head (concussion) in side oblique near side impacts, for the head in frontal oblique near side impacts (concussion) and for the lower extremities (ankle joint) in frontal impacts. For passengers, an injury risk greater than 2.4 % was found for the thorax (lungs) in side near side impacts, for the head (concussion) in front oblique near side impacts, and for the thorax (sternum) and the upper extremities (wrist, hand) in frontal impacts. Future development of human body models should focus on injuries to the head, thorax and the lower extremities. More specifically, it should focus on concussion in all impact directions and on rib and pelvic fractures in side near side impacts and in side oblique near side impacts.

Accident analysis to support the development of strategies for the prevention of brain injuries in car crashes.

This study estimated the frequency and risk of Moderate-to-Maximal traumatic brain injuries sustained by occupants in motor vehicle crashes in the US. National Automotive Sampling System - Crashworthiness Data System crashes that occurred in years 2001-2015 with light vehicles produced 2001 or later were incorporated in the study. Crash type, crash severity, car model year, belt usage and occupant age and sex were controlled for in the analysis. The results showed that Moderate concussions account for 79% of all MAISbrain2+ injuries. Belted occupants were at lower risks than unbelted occupants for most brain injury categories, including concussions. After controlling for the effects of age and crash severity, belted female occupants involved in frontal crashes were estimated to be 1.5 times more likely to sustain a concussion than male occupants in similar conditions. Belted elderly occupants were found to be at 10.5 and 8 times higher risks for sub-dural haemorrhages than non-elderly belted occupants in frontal and side crashes, respectively. Adopted occupant protection strategies appear to be insufficient to achieve significant decreases in risk of both life-threatening brain injuries and concussions for all car occupants. Further effort to develop occupant and injury specific strategies for the prevention of brain injuries are needed. This study suggests that these strategies may consider prioritization of life-threatening brain vasculature injuries, particularly in elderly occupants, and concussion injuries, particularly in female occupants.

Census study of real-life near-side crashes with modern side airbag-equipped vehicles in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the crash characteristics, injury distribution, and injury mechanisms for Maximum Abbreviated Injury Score (MAIS) 2+ injured belted, near-side occupants in airbag-equipped modern vehicles. Furthermore, differences in injury distribution for senior occupants compared to non-senior occupants was investigated, as well as whether the near-side occupant injury risk to the head and thorax increases or decreases with a neighboring occupant. METHOD: National Automotive Sampling System's Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) data from 2000 to 2012 were searched for all side impacts (GAD L&R, all principal direction of force) for belted occupants in modern vehicles (model year > 1999). Rollovers were excluded, and only front seat occupants over the age of 10 were included. Twelve thousand three hundred fifty-four MAIS 2+ injured occupants seated adjacent to the intruding structure (near-side) and protected by at least one deployed side airbag were studied. To evaluate the injury risk influenced by the neighboring occupant, odds ratio with an induced exposure approach was used. RESULT: The most typical crash occurred either at an intersection or in a left turn where the striking vehicle impacted the target vehicle at a 60 to 70° angle, resulting in a moderate change of velocity (delta-V) and intrusion at the B-pillar. The head, thorax, and pelvis were the most frequent body regions with rib fracture the most frequent specific injury. A majority of the head injuries included brain injuries without skull fracture, and non-senior rather than senior occupants had a higher frequency of head injuries on the whole. In approximately 50% of the cases there was a neighboring occupant influencing injury outcome. CONCLUSION: Compared to non-senior occupants, the senior occupants sustained a considerably higher rate of thoracic and pelvis injuries, which should be addressed by improved thorax side airbag protection. The influence on near-side occupant injury risk by the neighboring occupant should also be further evaluated. Furthermore, side airbag performance and injury assessments in intersection crashes, especially those involving senior occupants in lower severities, should be further investigated and side impact dummy biofidelity and injury criteria must be determined for these crash scenarios.