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For children seated next to the struck side, real-world crash outcome was determined for the rear-seat of passenger vehicles over the entire range of side impact crash severities. The method was first to calculate the actual risk for an occupant based on field data. The data sources were non-rollover, tow-away crashes from the 1997 - 2009 National Automotive Sampling System. By limiting the struck passenger vehicle to model year 1985 or newer, field data were identified for a total of 588 children. In all crashes, the child was seated in the rear-seat area on the struck side of the passenger vehicle. A matrix of MADYMO model simulations calculated the response of child dummies over the entire range of the field data. Age-dependent, moderate-to-serious (AIS ≥ 2) injury risk curves were derived and evaluated for children in side impact. Risks to the children were calculated by combining the derived child risk curves with the MADYMO model simulations.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the vehicle environment that a child occupant, between the ages of seven and thirteen years old, is exposed to in a real world crash. The focus of analysis is on those child occupants that are seated at the struck side in a lateral collision. This study was based on data extracted from the National Automotive Sampling System / Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS) between years 1991-2006. Analysis was based upon the evaluation of the projected consequence of injury to the child occupants. The societal costs generated as a result of occupant injuries were quantified. The societal cost, or Harm, acts as a measure of consequence of occupant exposure to the vehicle environment, when involved in a collision. The Harm was determined as a function of ΔV, principal direction of force, vehicle extent of damage, the pattern of damage to the vehicle, and the magnitude of intrusion based on the occupant seating position.

This study assessed the primary involved physical components attributed to the head and face injuries of child occupants seated directly adjacent to the stuck side of a vehicle in a side impact collision. The findings presented in this study were based upon analysis of the National Automotive Sampling System/Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS) for the years 1993–2007. Injury analysis was conducted for those nearside child occupants aged between 1–12 years-old. The involved children were classified as toddler-type, booster-type, or belted-type occupants. These classifications were based upon the recommended restraint system for the occupant. Injury mechanisms were assessed for the child occupants in each of the three groups. A detailed study of NASS/CDS cases was conducted to provide a greater understanding of the associated injury mechanisms.

Since model year 1983, one hundred and seventy five light trucks, vans, and sport utility vehicles (LTVs) have been included in the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) frontal crash tests. In this frontal test, vehicles are crashed at 35 mph such that the entire front impacts against a rigid, fixed barrier. Instrumented anthropometric dummies are placed in the driver and right front passenger seats. Accelerometers are placed on the vehicle to record the response of the structure during the crash. A number of recent papers have examined the compatibility of LTVs and cars in vehicle-to-vehicle collisions. The studies in these papers, generally, consider three factors for vehicle-to-vehicle compatibility: (1) mass, (2) stiffness, and (3) geometry. On June 5, 1998, Transport Canada and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration held a forum entitled “Transport-NHTSA International Dialogue on Vehicle Compatibility,” in Windsor, Canada.

This study investigated the mechanisms of traumatic rupture of the aorta (TRA). Eight unembalmed human cadavers were tested using various dynamic blunt loading modes. Impacts were conducted using a 32-kg impactor with a 152-mm face, and high-speed seatbelt pretensioners. High-speed biplane x-ray was used to visualize aortic motion within the mediastinum, and to measure deformation of the aorta. An axillary thoracotomy approach was used to access the peri-isthmic region to place radiopaque markers on the aorta. The cadavers were inverted for testing. Clinically relevant TRA was observed in seven of the tests. Peak average longitudinal Lagrange strain was 0.644, with the average peak for all tests being 0.208 ± 0.216. Peak intraluminal pressure of 165 kPa was recorded. Longitudinal stretch of the aorta was found to be a principal component of injury causation. Stretch of the aorta was generated by thoracic deformation, which is required for injury to occur.