The Influence of Gait Stance and Vehicle Type On Pedestrian Kinematics and Injury Risk
Abstract Pedestrians are one of the most vulnerable road users. In 2019, the USA reported the highest number of pedestrian fatalities in nearly three decades. The pre-impact conditions of Car-to-Pedestrian Collisions (CPC) vary significantly in terms of vehicles characteristics (e.g. front-end geometry, stiffness, etc.) and pedestrian characteristics (e.g. anthropometry, posture, etc.). The influence of pedestrian gait posture on CPC injury outcomes has not been well analyzed. The purpose of this study was to numerically investigate the changes in pedestrian kinematics and injuries across various gait postures in two different vehicle impacts. Five finite element (FE) human body models, that represent the 50th percentile male through the gait cycle, were developed and used to perform CPC simulations with two generic vehicle models representing a low-profile and high-profile vehicle. In the impacts with the high-profile vehicle, the pedestrian models usually slid above the bonnet leading edge and reported shorter wrap around distances than the low-profile vehicle impacts. The pedestrian postures influenced the post-impact rotation of the pedestrian and consequently, the impacted head region. Pedestrian posture also influenced the risk of injuries in the lower and upper extremities. Higher bone bending moments were observed in the stance phase posture compared to the swing phase. The findings of this study should be taken into consideration when examining pedestrian protection protocols. In addition, the results of this study can be used to improve the design of active safety systems used to protect pedestrians in collisions.