Injury mechanisms in belt restrained children in side impact crashes

Locey, C. M.; Jermakian, J. S.; Arbogast, K. B.; Nance, M. L.; Maltese, M. R.

Affiliations

²Center for Injury Research and Prevention, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

³The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Abstract

To facilitate successful development of side impact safety systems for rear seated passengers, manufacturers must have an understanding of the factors that contribute to injury causation and mitigation. In particular, the needs of children should be considered, as they are frequently rear-row passengers. While specific injury patterns for side impact crashes are known, the injury mechanisms are not fully understood. Further data is needed on what components of the vehicle are involved in generating the described injures, and how the body interacts with these components during the crash. The objective of this study was to define injury mechanisms for belt restrained children in side impact crashes, subsequently grouping them into general injury mechanism scenarios. To accomplish this, crash investigation data was gathered from the Partners for Child Passenger Safety (PCPS) and Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) databases. Inclusion criteria were as follows: 4-15 year olds, seated in the rear row, seatbelt restrained only, and with injuries scoring 2 or higher on the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS). Forty-six cases met these criteria and were reviewed by a team of engineers and physicians. Factors such as crash conditions, occupant characteristics, restraint, injury, and interior contacts were examined. Injuries were analyzed according to the CIREN BioTab method, which allows one or more injury causation scenario for each injury and also associates specific physical components within the vehicle to the injury. For each case, the contact points associated with each injury were mapped on an interior mock-up. Qualitative analyses of the cases have revealed several patterns. Head, chest, and lower extremity injuries were most prevalent in near-sided occupants, and in far-sided occupants abdominal injuries due to belt loading were most frequent when concussions were not considered. Center seated occupants sustained a variety of injuries primarily to the head, but also to the thorax and abdomen. These injuries were influenced by the amount of lateral motion the occupants underwent during the crash.

Cited Works (3)

Year	Entry
2001	Durbin DR, Elliott M, Arbogast KB, Anderko RL, Winston FK. The effect of seating position on risk of injury for children in side impact collisions. In: 45th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). September 24-26, 2001; San Antonio, TX.
2005	Maltese MR, Chen IG, Arbogast KB. The effect of rear row seating position on the risk of injury to belted children in side impacts in passenger cars. In: Proceedings of the 19th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 6-9, 2005; Washington, DC.
2004	Arbogast KB, Chen I, Durbin DR, Winston FK. Injury risks for children in child restraint systems in side impact crashes. In: Proceedings of the 2004 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 22-24, 2004; Graz, Austria.25-36.