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The automotive safety community has grown increasingly aware of the societal costs of injury impairment and disability resulting from automobile accidents. A significant portion of this impairment can be attributed to lower extremity trauma. An accident data study was conducted to determine lower extremity injury frequencies and mechanisms for restrained front-seat occupants in frontal collisions. A query of the 1988-1990 NASS (National Accident Sampling System) data provided information on pelvis, femur, knee, leg, and ankle and foot injuries. Age, gender, seating position, and delta-V were examined for their effect on the data. Lower extremity injury data were compared with injury data of similar severity (AIS ≥ 2) for the head, chest, thorax, and abdomen. The NASS data was supplemented with injury impairment information which, combined with anthropomorphic and biomechanical data, provides a prioritization scheme for the design of dummy lower extremities and instrumentation.