The Human Injury Research Division at NHTSA has a mission to conduct research to advance the scientific knowledge in impact biomechanics that enhances motor vehicle occupant safety and supports NHTSA’s mission to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce economic costs due to road traffic crashes. For over 25 years, NHTSA’s research has helped to improve understanding of the mechanisms of human injury and the tolerance of the various regions of the human body to the mechanical forces resulting from a car crash. The crash dummies, injury criteria, and modeling tools developed under this research have enabled the agency to develop regulations and consumer information to make vehicles safer.

This paper will describe how analysis of crash field data and in-depth case analysis has helped to identify vulnerable populations of occupants as well as areas of the human body that require further research. Injury tolerance of the elderly, pediatric biomechanics, head and brain injury, and thoracic and abdominal injuries are examples of the projects that will be described. The use of advanced computer modeling techniques for assessing human injury and enhancements to current and future crash dummies will be discussed. Finally, a framework for carrying out this research plan will be shared with the intent to stimulate future ideas and collaborations.