Analysis of the inter-relationship of pedestrian leg and pelvis injuries

Edwards, K. J.; Green, J. F.

In 1997 pedestrian accidents accounted for 27% of all road user fatalities and just over 23% of road user serious injuries in the UK. Across Europe the absolute number of pedestrian fatalities currently exceeds 6000 per annum.

In order to address the problem of pedestrian fatalities and injuries, sub-system tests for vehicle front-end structures have been proposed. However, there is concern that designing a vehicle to comply with each of these impactor tests may, in some cases, result in changes to the injury distribution and not an absolute reduction in injury levels.

A database of severely injured pedestrians was obtained from the Major Trauma Outcome Study (MTOS) conducted by a UK hospital. This database contains 316 injured pedestrians who received over 1200 injuries. Though biased towards severely injured pedestrians (99% received a Maximum Abbreviated lnjury Score (MAIS) of 2 or more injuries) a comparison has been made to the UK Stats19 distributions to assess the representativeness of the database. Injuries were coded using NS 90 and an aspect was assigned to each injury where possible.

Statistical analysis of the database has been performed to identify the interrelationships between injuries in light of the injury criteria specified for the proposed impactor tests. Probabilities of sustaining certain injuries have been calculated depending on the incidence of injuries caused earlier in the impact event. Further, the types of injuries have been closely examined in order to understand the likely injury mechanisms. Conclusions are presented regarding the potential benefits and concerns of complying with the proposed impactor injury criteria through vehicle related pedestrian protection measures.

Year

Entry

1995

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1979

Aldman B, Lundell B, Thorngren L, Bunketorp O, Romanus B. Physical simulation of human leg-bumper impacts. In: Proceedings of the 1979 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 5-7, 1979; Goeteborg, Sweden.232-242.

1990

The Abbreviated Injury Scale-1990 Revision. Des Plaines, IL: Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM); 1990.

1981

Ashton SJ. Factors associated with pelvic and knee injuries in pedestrians struck by the fronts of cars. In: Proceedings of the 25th Stapp Car Crash Conference. September 28-30, 1981; San Francisco, CA. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers:863-900. SAE 811026.

1997

Kajzer J, Schroeder G, Ishikawa H, Matsui Y, Bosch U. Shearing and bending effects at the knee joint at high speed lateral loading. In: Proceedings of the 41st Stapp Car Crash Conference. November 13-14, 1997; Lake Buena Vista, FL. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers:151-165. SAE 973326.