Technical Paper
Incidence and Mechanisms of Head, Cervical Spine, Lumbar Spine, and Lower Extremity Injuries for Occupants in Low- to Moderate-Speed Rear-End Collisions
2021-04-06
2021-01-0900
Automotive accidents and subsequent personal injury claims incur substantial costs annually. While seat and head restraint design continue to evolve and improve, occupant safety and injury risk assessment in rear-end collisions remain at the forefront of automotive innovation. In this study, we combined statistical analyses of nine years (2007-2015) of data from the National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) database and one year (2017) of data from the Crash Investigation Sampling System (CISS) database with data acquired from vehicle-to-vehicle crash tests conducted with instrumented anthropomorphic test device (ATD) occupants. Together, these analyses were used to compare and relate field injury rates with potential mechanisms underlying head, cervical spine, lumbar spine, and lower extremity injuries in low-to moderate-speed rear-end collisions.