Occupant protection in rear-end collisions, I: safety priorities and seat belt effectiveness

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James, Michael B.¹; Strother, Charles E.¹; Warner, Charles Y.¹; Decker, Robin L.¹; Perl, Thomas R.¹

Occupant protection in rear-end collisions, I: safety priorities and seat belt effectiveness

Proceedings of the 35th Stapp Car Crash Conference

Affiliations

¹Collision Safety Engrg., Inc.
Abstract

Recent detailed field accident data are examined with regard to injuries associated with rear impacts. The distribution of "Societal Harm" associated with various injury mechanisms is presented, and used to evaluate the performance of current seat back and restraint system designs. Deformation associated with seat back yield is shown to be beneficial in reducing overall Societal Harm in rear impacts. The Societal Harm associated with ejection and contact with the vehicle rear interior (the two injury mechanisms addressed by a rigid seat approach), is shown to be minimal. The field accident data also confirm that restraint usage in rear impacts has a substantial injury-reducing effect. Laboratory tests and computer simulations were run to investigate the mechanism by which seat belts protect occupants in rear impacts.
Links

DOI: 10.4271/912913

SAE: 912913

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Cited By (12)

Year	Entry
1997	James MB, Decker RL, Warner CY. Severe and fatal injuries in rear impacts. In: 41st Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). November 10-11, 1997; Orlando, FL.291-305.
1994	Nilson G, Svensson MY, Lövsund P, Häland Y, Wiklund K. Rear-end collisions: the effect of the seat-belt and the crash pulse on occupant motion. In: Proceedings of the 14th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 23-26, 1994; Munich, Germany.1630-1639.
2011	Mango N, Garthe E. Standard & integrated restraint first row seat performance in rear-impact crashes. In: Proceedings of the 22nd International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 13-16, 2011; Washington, DC.
1993	Svensson MY, Aldman B, Hansson HA, Lövsund P, Seeman T, Suneson A, Örtengren T. Pressure effects in the spinal canal during whiplash extension motion: a possible cause of injury to the cervical spinal ganglia. In: Proceedings of the 1993 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 8-10, 1993; Eindhoven, The Netherlands.189-200.
1996	Boström O, Svensson MY, Aldman B, Hansson HA, Håland Y, Lövsund P, Seeman T, Suneson A, Säljö A, Örtengren T. A new neck injury criterion candidate based on injury findings in the cervical spinal ganglia after experimental neck extension trauma. In: Proceedings of the 1996 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 11-13, 1996; Dublin, Ireland.123-136.
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1994	Nilson G. Effects of Seat and Seat-Belt Design on Car Occupant Response in Frontal and Rear Impacts: A Study Combining Mechanical and Mathematical Modelling [PhD thesis]. Götenburg, Sweden: Chalmers University of Technology; 1994.
2019	Tatem WM. The Crash Injury Risk to Rear Seated Passenger Vehicle Occupants [PhD thesis]. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; December 13, 2019.