Influence of mass ratio and structural compatibility on the severity of injuries sustained by the near side occupants in car-to-car side collisions

Hartemann, F.; Foret-Bruno, J. Y.; Thomas, C.; Tarrière, C.; Got, C.; Patel, A.

Affiliations

¹Laboratoire de Physiologie et de Biomécanique de l'Association Peugeot-Renault, La Garenne-Colombes (France)

²IRO/IRBA, Hôpital Raymond Poincaré, Garches (France)

Abstract

In 1344 car-to-car side collisions, the risk of serious or fatal injury to the occupants of struck vehicles seem to increase proportionally to the difference in mass ratios in favor of the striking vehicle.

However, in-depth analysis of 63 collisions during which the impact occurred on the side panel of the passenger compartment reveals that the difference in mass ratios is not the principal determinant of injury severity.

The frequency and severity of injuries correlates better with the amount of intrusion of the side panel, a type of intrusion which occurs almost systematically, and even at low impact speed, when the bumper and structure in front of the side rail of the striking car override the rocker panel of the struck car.

We shall show the relationship between the severity of chest, abdominal and pelvic injuries sustained by occupants seated perpendicularly to the intruding panel and the following parameters:

mass ratio

compatibility of the relative heights of the stiffest elements involved in the impact

impact speed

ΔV of the struck car

intrusion

We shall indicate the structural modifications which might improve protection of occupants involved in side collision with another car.

Links

DOI: 10.4271/791010

SAE: 791010

Cited By (7)

Year	Entry
1990	Thomas C, Faverjon G, Henry C, Le Coz JY, Got C, Patel A. The problem of compatibility in car-to-car collisions. In: 34th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 1-3, 1990; Scottsdale, AZ.253-267.
1999	Thomas P, Frampton R. Large and small cars in real-world crashes: patterns of use, collision types and injury outcomes. In: 43rd Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). September 20-21, 1999; Barcelon, Spain.101-118.
1996	Shearlaw A, Thomas P. Vehicle to vehicle compatibility in real world accidents. In: Proceedings of the 15th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 13-16, 1996; Melbourne, Australia.607-616.
1987	Hardy RN. Towards optimised side-impact vehicle structure. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Technical Conference on Experimental Safety Vehicles (ESV). May 12-15, 1987; Washington, DC.86-91.
1980	Foret-Bruno JY, Hartemann F, Thomas C, Tarrière C, Loyat B, Stcherbatcheff G, Got C, Patel A. Occupant velocity change in side impact method of calculation: application to a sample of real-world crashes. In: Proceedings of the 24th Stapp Car Crash Conference. October 15-17, 1980; Troy, MI. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers:329-373. SAE 801308.
2002	Thomas P, Frampton R. Car size in U.K. crashes: the effects of user characteristics, impact configuration, and the patterns of injury. Traffic Inj Prev. 2002;3(4):275-282.
2010	Hallman JJ. Detrimental Thoracoabdominal Interaction With Lateral Airbag Restraints [PhD thesis]. Wilwaukee, WI: Marquette University; December 2010.