OBJECTIVE The objective is to establish a basis for motor vehicle test requirements that measure component contributions to Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD). METHODS Selected vehicle design features are evaluated with regard to their relative contributions to WAD measures. The motion of the occupant cervical spine associated with WAD is divided into four phases: retraction, extension, rebo...

Light truck vehicles (LTV) are becoming more popular on US highways. This creates greater opportunity for collisions with passenger vehicles (PV). The mismatch in weight, stiffness, and height between LTV and PV has been surmised to result in increased fatalities among PV occupants when their vehicles collide with LTV. We reviewed cases of vehicle mismatch collisions in the Seattle Crash Injury...

, Abstract—Background: Selective cervical spine immobilization performed by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is being utilized with increasing frequency. These protocols, although very sensitive, still include subjective data such as ‘‘mild cervical discomfort.’’ The aim of this study is to create an objective clinical decision rule that would enhance the selective approach for cervical spine i...

OBJECTIVE To determine the risk of motor vehicle occupant deaths per unit of travel for Hispanic, non-Hispanic black, and non-Hispanic white children (aged 5-12 years) and teenagers (aged 13-19 years). DESIGN Comparison of 1989 to 1993 motor vehicle occupant death rates of children and teenagers by race, ethnicity, and sex by using data on mortality from the National Center for Health Statist...

The effect of residential neighborhood characteristics on a child's risk of serious motor vehicle traffic occupant injuries was evaluated in New York State, USA, for the years 1993-2003, with particular focus on the effect of neighborhood walkability. Risk increased significantly (p < 0.0001) with decreasing street connectivity and as more workers commuted more than 30 min using means other tha...

This paper presents an estimate of the probability of serious occupant injury in frontal crashes based on two vehicle acceleration-based metrics: the 10 ms peak acceleration and the 50 ms peak acceleration. Both of these metrics are used to evaluate injury potential in crash test involving roadside hardware, such as guardrail. For this study, Event Data Recorder (EDR) data provides vehicle kine...

Small overlap frontal crashes occur when vehicles are loaded outboard of their longitudinal structural members. Studies from the 1990s as well as current research have found that these crashes continue to account for a significant percentage of all serious frontal crashes. The National Automotive Sampling System/Crashworthiness Data System database was used to study the characteristics of these...

This study has investigated the feasibility of estimating chest acceleration from the pelvic acceleration and shoulder belt forces measured on a vehicle occupant exposed to a frontal crash. The method of estimating chest acceleration is based upon a simple two-mass one-dimensional model of a vehicle occupant in which pelvic acceleration and shoulder belt force are applied as forcing functions. ...

Occupant kinematics during rollover inverted impacts has been the subject of significant research. Controlled experiments have utilized complete vehicles, partial vehicles and seat/restraint systems attached to various platforms. The Deformable Occupant Compartment Impact Tester (DOCIT) was developed to incorporate functions similar to previous methods, but has added a roof capable of deforming...