AIS 3+ Thoracic Injuries Among Drivers in Real-World Motor Vehicle Frontal Crashes: The Effect of Impact Direction, Impact Location and Status of Seat Belt

Author(s):  
Peiyu Li ◽  
Chunsheng Ma ◽  
Yuzhe Dong ◽  
Hao Li ◽  
Jinhuan Zhang
Author(s):  
Peiyu Li ◽  
Chunsheng Ma ◽  
Kai Zhang ◽  
Longli Shi ◽  
Jinhuan Zhang

This paper investigates the combined effects of specific impact direction and impact location on the serious-to-maximum (AIS3–6) thoracic injuries of drivers in frontal impacts based on the 1995–2009 data from the United States Department of Transportation (US DOT) National Automotive Sampling System/Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS). The selected sample is limited to three impact locations near the driver side (distributed, offset and corner) and two impact directions (pure frontal and oblique) treated as the frontal direction, resulting in a total of six crash configurations. The risks of thoracic injury for drivers in all frontal crash configurations are evaluated. The relative risks with 95% confidence intervals are calculated. Binary logistic regressions are fitted to the datasets for further examination of the effects of impact direction and impact location on the serious-to-maximum thoracic injuries. Occupant characteristics and crash severity are also included as explanatory variables. Overall, impact location and impact direction have considerable influences on thoracic injury pattern and severity for drivers. For distributed and corner deformation, oblique loading is approximately 3 times more likely to lead to thoracic injures than pure frontal loading. Conversely, the relative risk is 3.44 for offset deformation, which indicates that, for this impact location, frontal impact is more associated thoracic injuries compared to oblique impact. The effects of impact location and impact direction on serious-to-maximum injuries for three types of anatomical structures (organ, skeletal and vessel) are assessed as well. In addition to crash related variables (impact location and impact direction), results of the binary logistic regressions also indicate that crash severity (OR, 7.67–81.35) and occupant characteristics, including age (OR, 4.80–20.83), gender (OR, 1.16) and BMI (OR, 1.81), significantly affect the risks of thoracic injuries in frontal motor vehicle collisions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (sup1) ◽  
pp. S70-S75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas R. Hartka ◽  
Hannah M. Carr ◽  
Brittany R. Smith ◽  
Monica Melmer ◽  
Mark R. Sochor

Author(s):  
J. R. Crandall ◽  
Z Cheng ◽  
W. D. Pilkey

The theoretically optimal performance of seat belt systems for occupants in automobile frontal crashes is investigated based on a two-mass injury model of the thorax. The performance is measured by thoracic injury criteria which include the maximum chest acceleration, compression and viscous response. The relationship between the best possible performance (limiting performance) of the seat belt system and the distance between the occupant and the interior components of the vehicle is displayed in the form of trade-off curves, which can be used for the evaluation of seat belt performance. The characteristics of the optimal seat belt force and the kinematics of the system are illustrated. The results indicate that the optimal seat belt force is not constant during an impact and that an initial impulse is required. However, constant seat belt force can provide thoracic restraint that is close to the optimal solution.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 465-465
Author(s):  
Jennifer Zakrajsek ◽  
Lisa Molnar ◽  
David Eby ◽  
David LeBlanc ◽  
Lidia Kostyniuk ◽  
...  

Abstract Motor vehicle crashes represent a significant public health problem. Efforts to improve driving safety are multifaceted, focusing on vehicles, roadways, and drivers with risky driving behaviors playing integral roles in each area. As part of a study to create guidelines for developing risky driving countermeasures, 480 drivers (118 young/18-25, 183 middle-aged/35-55, 179 older/65 and older) completed online surveys measuring driving history, risky driving (frequency of engaging in distracted [using cell phone, texting, eating/drinking, grooming, reaching/interacting] and reckless/aggressive [speeding, tailgating, failing to yield right-of-way, maneuvering unsafely, rolling stops] driving behaviors), and psychosocial characteristics. A cluster analysis using frequency of the risky behaviors and seat belt use identified five risky behavior-clusters: 1) rarely/never distracted-rarely/never reckless/aggressive (n=392); 2) sometimes distracted-rarely/never reckless/aggressive (n=33); 3) sometimes distracted-sometimes reckless/aggressive (n=40); 4) often/always distracted-often/always reckless/aggressive (n=11); 5) no pattern (n=4). Older drivers were more likely in the first/lowest cluster (93.8% of older versus 84.2% of middle-aged and 59.3% of young drivers; p<.0001). Fifteen older drivers participated in a follow-up study in which their vehicles were equipped with a data acquisition system that collected objective driving and video data of all trips for three weeks. Analysis of video data from 145 older driver trips indicated that older drivers engaged in at least one distracted behavior in 115 (79.3%) trips. While preliminary, this suggests considerably more frequent engagement in distracted driving than self-reported and that older drivers should not be excluded from consideration when developing risky driving behavior countermeasures. Full study results and implications will be presented.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002580242199399
Author(s):  
Siobhan O’Donovan ◽  
Neil EI Langlois ◽  
Corinna van den Heuvel ◽  
Roger W Byard

A retrospective review of autopsy files at Forensic Science South Australia in Adelaide, Australia, was undertaken over a five-year period from January 2014 to December 2018 for all motor vehicle crashes with rollovers ending with the vehicle inverted and the occupants suspended by the lap component of their seat belts. There were five cases, all male drivers (aged 18–67 years; Mage = 32 years). Acute neck flexion or head wedging was noted in four cases, with facial petechiae in four and facial congestion in one. Deaths were due to positional asphyxia in four cases, with the combined effects of positional asphyxia and head trauma accounting for the remaining case. Although all drivers had evidence of head impact which may have caused incapacitation, in only one case was this considered severe enough to have contributed to death. A blood alcohol level above the legal limit for driving was detected in two cases, but no other drugs were detected. This series demonstrates another subset of cases of seat belt–associated deaths where suspension upside down by the lap component of a seat belt had occurred after vehicle rollovers. Predisposing factors include incapacitation of the victim and delay in rescue. The postulated lethal mechanism involved respiratory compromise from the weight of abdominal viscera on the diaphragm, as well as upper airway compromise due to kinking of the neck and wedging of the head.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 382-386
Author(s):  
Phyllis F. Agran ◽  
Debora E. Dunkle ◽  
Diane G. Winn

In a sample of children less than 4 years of age, treated in an emergency room after a motor vehicle accident, 22% were restrained in a child safety seat (improper and proper), 12% were restrained by a vehicle seat belt, and 70% were unrestrained. Trauma and injury patterns related to the various restraint use patterns are described. Most children in safety seats and seat-belted children, if injured, sustained minor contusions, abrasions, or lacerations. Injury among properly restrained children in safety seats was primarily the result of unavoidable mechanisms (eg, flying glass, intrusion). Improper use contributed to injury among safety-seat-restrained children, primarily by allowing the child to hit against the vehicle interior. Seat-belted children also were injured, primarily by hitting against the vehicle interior. Although some of the restrained children were seriously injured, in general, restrained children tended to sustain less serious and fewer injuries than the unrestrained children.


1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
William G. Broadhead ◽  
D. Theodore Zinke

Abstract The design of an airbag restraint system presents a classic engineering challenge. There are numerous design parameters that need to be optimized to cover the wide range of occupant sizes, occupant positions and vehicle collision modes. Some of the major parameters that affect airbag performance include, the airbag inflator characteristics, airbag size and shape, airbag vent size, steering column collapse characteristics, airbag cover characteristics, airbag fold pattern, knee bolsters, seat, seat belt characteristics, and vehicle crush characteristics. Optimization of these parameters can involve extremely costly programs of sled tests and full scale vehicle crash tests. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) with regard to airbag design are not specific and allow flexibility in component characteristics. One design strategy, which is simplistic and inexpensive, is to utilize a very fast, high output gas generator (inflator). This ensures that the bag will begin restraining the occupant soon after deployment and can make up for deficiencies in other components such as inadequate steering column collapse or an unusually stiff vehicle crush characteristic. The use of such inflators generally works well for properly positioned occupants in moderate to high-speed frontal collisions by taking advantage of the principle of ridedown. When an airbag quickly fills the gap between the occupant and the instrument panel or steering wheel it links him to the vehicle such that he utilizes the vehicle’s front-end crush to help dissipate his energy, thus reducing the restraint forces. Unfortunately, powerful airbag systems can be injurious to anyone in the path of the deploying airbag. This hazard is present for short statured individuals, out of position children or any occupant in a collision that results in extra ordinary crash sensing time. Currently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is proposing to rewrite FMVSS 208 to help reduce such hazards.


2014 ◽  
Vol 186 (2) ◽  
pp. 659-660
Author(s):  
E.T. Chang ◽  
S. Holcombe ◽  
C. Kohoyda-Inglis ◽  
J.B. MacWilliams ◽  
C. Parenteau ◽  
...  

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