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Debate surrounds the utility of the Biofidelic Rear Impact Dummy (BioRID) anthropomorphic test device (ATD) for providing meaningful biomechanical metrics during rear impact and the appropriate criteria for interpreting the ATD response. In the current study, we performed a comparison of the kinematic and kinetic responses of the BioRID II and Hybrid III ATDs over a range of low- and moderate-speed rear impact conditions. A BioRID II and a midsize male Hybrid III were tested side-by-side in a series of rear impact sled tests. To evaluate occupant response in rear impact, the ATDs were positioned into front row standard production bucket seats, restrained by 3-point safety belts, and subjected to rear impacts with delta-Vs (ΔVs) of 2.2, 3.6, 5.4, and 6.7 m/s (5, 8, 12, and 15 mph).

Although most of the research on vehicular rear impacts has focused on the neck, there is increasing current concern about the lumbar spine. Spinal bending superimposed with sudden spinal compression has been suggested as a mechanism of creating acute herniations on the rare occasion in which low back pain associated with an intervertebral disc herniation was reported. During automotive rear-impacts, the vehicle accelerations are directed anteriorly, and the seat backs deflect posteriorly. In vehicle seats equipped with floor-mounted seatbelt restraints, the pelvis is restrained by the seatback and seatbelt, while the torso ramps upward and rearward on the seatback during the rearward motion, producing tension in the lumbar spine. However, in an all-belts-to-seat arrangement, the lumbar spines may experience overall compressive and bending loads.