Annual Proceedings

This study investigates injury occurrence for belted occupants as a function of age. An analysis of NASS/CDS 1997-2003 data was conducted to determine crash involvement rates and injury rates for front seat occupants versus mean occupant age. In frontal and near-side crashes, the average age of MAIS 3+ belted front seat occupants injured in crashes less severe than 15 mph is of the order of 50 years. The average age of the population exposed to crashes less severe than 15 mph is under 40 years old. The crash exposure and frequency if injuries to the elderly were both found to be the highest in low severity crashes...

Using data from i) a self-administered survey of 673 older female drivers, and ii) a case-control study of 48 crash-involved and 44 non crash-involved older female drivers, some factors that may predict crash involvement were identified. Survey data gathered self-reported information on demographic characteristics, health status, travel patterns and driving practices. A battery of functional performance assessments were administered by trained experimenters in the case-control study, and participants completed a second detailed self-administered questionnaire...

While there is a great deal of data documenting the etiologic role alcohol use plays in crash culpability, there is a dearth of data for other drugs. The purpose of this study was to assess crash culpability for single drug use among injured drivers admitted to a regional trauma center. This study is the largest of its kind involving trauma center patients. Clinical toxicology results obtained for patient care were linked to police crash reports containing a field attributing crash culpability. Drugs studied were alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana...

This study provided a consolidated evaluation of four separate demonstration projects aimed at reducing impaired driving through well-publicized enforcement. Each of the four demonstration projects used different enforcement approaches in an effort to reduce impaired driving crashes in the State. Georgia experienced a significant decrease in drinking-and-driving fatal crashes (14 percent using a ratio measure in a time series analysis). The program in Georgia (2800 checkpoints) saved an estimated 60 lives in the first year...

Alcohol dependence has been associated with behavioral risk factors and risk-taking tendencies. We investigated whether past alcohol dependent trauma center patients (n=42) retain the characteristics of current alcohol dependent patients (n=67) or whether they resemble patients without history of alcohol dependence (n=262). We found that past alcohol dependence patients retain some of the risk-taking tendencies (impulsivity and sensation seeking) and risk-taking behaviors (drinking and driving, riding with a drunk driver, binge drinking, speeding for the thrill) common to current alcohol dependent patients and they remain at a higher injury risk than the non alcohol dependent population...

With the vehicle fleet of family transportation in the United States continuing to evolve primarily through the increasing number of light truck vehicles (LTV), studying the effects of vehicle incompatibility has become increasingly important. Using data collected from a population-based sample of child-involved crashes in insured vehicles, we explored the effect of variations in crash partner vehicle type on child occupant injury risk, stratified by direction of impact. Children in passenger cars and LTVs involved in onside collisions were at an increased risk of serious injury if struck by a LTV as compared to a passenger vehicle (passenger cars and minivans)...

The current paper uses data from two trauma registries to evaluate the significance of adult pedestrian torso injury relative to head and lower extremity injuries and to determine the relative importance of injuries to individual torso organs/structures. Analyses are conducted with and without adjusting for striking vehicle body type (car versus LTV). Although the incidence of torso injury is approximately 50% higher in pedestrians struck by LTVs than in those struck by cars, torso injury appears to be as an important contributor to the overall cost of pedestrian morbidity as is lower extremity injury...

This paper examines differences in the adolescent psychosocial and problem behavior characteristics of individuals who have stable-low, increasing, stable-high and decreasing frequencies of motor vehicle crashes from licensure into early young adulthood. Problem Behavior Theory was used as the guiding theoretical framework. Study data were collected when the participants were in 10th and 12th grades, and during a young adulthood follow-up telephone survey conducted five to six years later (n = 1,936). For men, stable high crash rates were associated with less parental monitoring and more substance use, and a stable low crash rates were associated with better marks in school...

Previous work identified a similar risk of injury for children seated on the struck side and center rear in side impact crashes in passenger cars. In order to further explain this finding, we investigated the effect of sharing the rear row with other occupants on injury risk and delineated differences in injury patterns among the seat positions. These analyses, conducted from a large child specific crash surveillance system, included: children 4-15 years old, rear seated, seat belt restrained, in a passenger car, and in a side impact crash...

The performance of rear facing child restraints in frontal crashes can be determined by controlling a) the child's kinematics and b) interactions with vehicle structures. Twelve sled tests were performed to analyze the effect of the location and structural properties of vehicle interior components. The role of restraint kinematics was studied by developing computational models which underwent idealized motions. Stiff structures originally offset from the restraint, but which contact the restraint late in the test, cause increased injury values...

Previous work quantified a 59% reduction in injury risk for children in belt positioning booster seats (BPB) compared to those restrained in seat belts using a sample of crashes of all directions of impact. Experimental sled tests have highlighted the potential for extreme occupant excursion out of the BPB in side impact crash conditions. Using data from a large child specific crash surveillance system, the present study built upon these previous studies and quantified the relative effectiveness of BPB as compared to seat belts in reducing the risk of injury among 4-8 year olds in side impact crashes...

The population of occupants in far-side crashes that are documented in the US National database (NASS/CDS) was studied. The annual number of front seat occupants with serious or fatal injuries in far-side planar and rollover crashes was 17,194. The crash environment that produces serious and fatal injuries to belted front seat occupants in planar far-side crashes was investigated in detail. It was found that both the change in velocity and extent of damage were important factors that relate to crash severity...

Field data on side airbag deployments in lateral crashes and head injuries have largely remained anecdotal. Consequently, the purpose of this research was to report head injuries in lateral motor vehicle impacts. Data from the National Automotive Sampling System files were extracted from side impacts associated with side airbag deployments. Matched pairs with similar vehicle characteristics but without side airbags were also extracted. All data were limited to the United States Federal Motor vehicle Safety Standards FMVSS 214 compliant vehicles so that the information may be more effectively used in the future...

By incorporating material and geometrical properties into a model of the human thorax one can develop an injury criterion that is a function of stress and strain of the material and not a function of the global response of the thorax. Previous research on the mechanical properties of ribs has focused on a limited set of specific ribs. For this study a total of 52 rib specimens were removed from four cadaver subjects. Variation in peak moment by thoracic region was significant (p < 0.01) with average values of 2, 2...

The number of rolls, as well as other factors, has been associated with increased injury risk in rollovers. Data from NASS-CDS from 1995-2003 were used to evaluate the biomechanical implications of vehicle kinematics during multiple rolls and to evaluate the risk of injuries to different body regions during rollovers. The data showed that the risk of injury increased with increasing number of rolls. The rate of increase in risk varied by the region of the body affected and injury severity. The increased risk was particularly great when a vehicle rolled more than two complete rolls...

The objective of this study was to investigate the main injury patterns and sources of non-ejected occupants (i.e. no full/partial ejection) during trip-over crashes, using the NASS-CDS database. Specific injury types and sources of the head, chest, and neck were identified. Results from this study suggest that cerebrum injuries, especially subarachnoid hemorrhage, rib fractures, lung injuries, and cervical spine fractures need to be emphasized if cadaveric tests or numerical simulations are designed to study rollover injury mechanisms...

National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) crash statistics were examined to understand injury patterns of belted occupants in rollover crashes and determine accuracy / completeness of selected NASS-coded variables. A comprehensive statistical study, followed by detailed engineering reviews of 278 NASS cases, is in progress. The primary objective is to understand rollover crash characteristics and their influence on rollover injury severity. Focus was on cases with "roof contact" as the injury source. Two groups- significant roof deformation with no injury, and significant injury with minimal roof deformation-are discussed, as are crash characteristics such as "arrested roll...

Pre-hospital care in developing worlds has been found to be grossly deficient compared to high income countries. The pre-hospital care given to road accident victims attending the casualty departments of four tertiary level hospitals in South Western Nigeria was assessed using a one-page pro-forma. 1996 patients with injuries from road crashes were seen in the hospitals, only 172 had any form of pre-hospital care, just 160 were transported in ambulances and none had any form of organized pre-hospital care. The mean arrival time in the hospital after crashes was 93...

Recent studies have shown that survivors of road traffic crashes experience significant psychological health difficulties. Perception of another party as being responsible for the occurrence of a crash has been associated with on-going distress and lower psychological well-being. This paper extends this research by examining the influence of perceived crash responsibility on depression severity. A total of 57 adults aged 18-58 years injured in a road traffic crash were interviewed prior to hospital discharge and at 2-months post-crash...

ABSTRACT This study points out how thirty years of focused safety development has produced a steady decrease in injury rates in car crashes, strongly influenced by a well-structured process. An important part of this process is the knowledge gained by accident research based on collection of data from real world crashes, and the feedback of this research into development work. Statistical analysis shows that the MAIS 2+ injury rate for the most recent car models has decreased by two-thirds compared to the rate for the oldest car models...