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Lower extremity injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes are both frequent and associated with considerable long-term impairment. Deformation of a vehicle's occupant compartment resulting in intrusion into the foot area is often cited as a source of many of these injuries. Similarly, collisions involving only a portion of a vehicle's front structure are typically said to produce greater intrusion than fully engaged crashes. The relationship between occupant compartment intrusion and the risk of lower extremity injuries was examined through a series of offset frontal crash tests of 1984-89 Oldsmobile Cieras. Results from both car-to-car and car-to-barrier test crashes with instrumented dummies confirm that there is a relationship between occupant compartment deformation and the loads acting on the lower extremities of vehicle occupants, even when crash severity has been controlled.

A BioRID (biofidelic rear impact dummy) representing a 50th percentile adult male was seated in the front passenger seat of six new vehicle models in a series of low-speed crash tests. The neck injury criterion (NIC) and other dummy responses that may indicate whiplash injury risk were recorded. Both front-into- rear and rear-into-barrier tests with an average velocity change of 11 km/h were conducted. Head restraints were tested in both adjusted (up) and unadjusted (down) positions. Damage to all models was minor, and longitudinal vehicle accelerations were low (less than 7 g). Neck extension angles and bending moments were much less than injury assessment reference values (IARV) (80 degrees and 57 Nm, respectively), indicating low risk of hyperextension injuries. Neck tension and transverse forces also were less than IARVs used to indicate the risk of more serious neck injuries.