Study of Seat System Performance Related to Injury of Rear Seated Children and Infants in Rear Impacts

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Saczalski ◽  
Joseph Lawson Burton ◽  
Paul R. Lewis ◽  
Keith Friedman ◽  
Todd K. Saczalski
Keyword(s):  
Injury Risk ◽  
Rear Seat ◽  
Motor Vehicles ◽  
Front Seat ◽  
Vehicle To Vehicle ◽  
Booster Seats ◽  
Child Restraint ◽  
Speed Change ◽  
Serious Injury ◽  
Rear Impacts

Since 1996 the NHTSA has warned of the airbag deployment injury risk to front seated children and infants, during frontal impact, and they have recommended that children be placed in the rear seating areas of motor vehicles. However, during most rear impacts the adult occupied front seats will collapse into the rear occupant area and, as such, pose another potentially serious injury risk to the rear seated children and infants who are located on rear seats that are not likely to collapse. Also, in the case of higher speed rear impacts, intrusion of the occupant compartment may cause the child to be shoved forward into the rearward collapsing front seat occupant thereby increasing impact forces to the trapped child. This study summarizes the results of more than a dozen actual accident cases involving over 2-dozen rear-seated children, where 7 children received fatal injuries, and the others received injuries ranging from severely disabling to minor injury. Types of injuries include, among others: crushed skulls and brain damage; ruptured hearts; broken and bruised legs; and death by post-crash fires when the children became entrapped behind collapsed front seat systems. Several rear-impact crash tests, utilizing sled-bucks and vehicle-to-vehicle tests, are used to examine the effects of front seat strength and various types of child restraint systems, such as booster seats and child restraint seats (both forward and rearward facing), in relation to injury potential of rear seated children and infants. The tests utilized sedan and minivan type vehicles that were subjected to speed changes ranging from about 20 to 50 kph (12 to 30 mph), with an average G level per speed change of about 9 to 15. The results indicate that children and infants seated behind a collapsing driver seat, even in low severity rear impacts of less than 25 kph, encounter a high risk of serious or fatal injury, whether or not rear intrusion takes place. Children seated in other rear seat positions away from significant front seat collapse, such as behind the stronger “belt-integrated” types of front seats or rearward but in between occupied collapsing front seat positions, are less likely to be as seriously injured.

Effects of Front Seat Performance Failure on Rear Seat Occupant Injuries in Rear Impacts

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Friedman ◽  
Tim Kenney ◽  
Jack Bish ◽  
Kemal Atesmen
Keyword(s):  
Rear Seat ◽  
Crash Severity ◽  
Front Seat ◽  
Occupant Injuries ◽  
Serious Injury ◽  
Rear Impacts ◽  
A Performance

Abstract An analysis of rear end accidents involving rear seat occupants seated behind a front seat occupant was conducted examining the probability of serious injury as a function of both crash severity and front seat performance failure. Seat performance failure is when some element of the seat fails to do what it is designed to do, e.g. a seat back lock allows the seat back to move during the collision. The results suggest that the risk of serious injury is greater in the 6.7-11.2 m/s Delta-V crash severity range when the seat in front of the occupant suffers a performance failure.

Biomechanical Study of Rear Child Chest Injury Measures Related to Collapsing Front Seats in Rear Impacts

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Saczalski ◽  
Anthony Sances ◽  
Srirangam Kumaresan ◽  
Steve Meyer ◽  
Joseph Lawson Burton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surrogate Data ◽  
Rear Seat ◽  
Biomechanical Study ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Chest Injury ◽  
Motor Vehicles ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Many ◽  
Rear Impacts ◽  
Rear Seating

Government recommendations have been made to place children into the rear seating areas of motor vehicles in order to alleviate airbag hazards in frontal impact. In most moderate to severe rear impacts, however, the adult occupied front seats will “yield” or “collapse” into the rear seat area and thus pose another potential head and chest injury hazard to the rear seated children. Numerous factors or variables, each with a wide parameter range, influence whether or not an occupied collapsing front seat will result in engagement with the rear occupant, and whether that engagement is likely to cause injury to the rear-seated occupant. A combined experimental and analytical method, employing instrumented surrogates in a sled-buck test set-up, has been utilized to study the multivariable potential injury problem of the rear-seated child in rear impact. A 3 year-old H-III surrogate, seated in the built-in booster seat of a minivan, was used as the rear seat passenger in this study. Five tests were utilized. The experimental surrogate data from the test method is combined into a “polynomial response function” that expresses “injury levels” (i.e. HIC and chest G) as a function of the many variables, and allows for analytical “interpolation and extrapolation” at variable combinations and ranges not tested. Actual accident cases were compared with the biomechanical injury measures. The present study presents a methodology to delineate the biomechanics of injuries using multivariate analysis.

The Risk of Whiplash Injury in the Rear Seat Compared to the Front Seat in Rear Impacts

2003 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Krafft ◽  
Anders Kullgren ◽  
Anders Lie ◽  
Claes Tingvall
Keyword(s):  
Whiplash Injury ◽  
Rear Seat ◽  
Front Seat ◽  
Rear Impacts

Rear Seated Child Injury Risk Experimental Measures Related to Vehicle Front Seat Performance in Rear Impacts

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Saczalski ◽  
Mark C. Pozzi ◽  
Joseph Lawson Burton
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Injury Risk ◽  
Crash Test ◽  
Front Seat ◽  
Child Injury ◽  
Vehicle Type ◽  
Rear Impact ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Statistical Studies ◽  
Rear Impacts

Recent field accident statistical studies dealing with injury risk assessment of rear seated children in rear impacts indicated a doubling of AIS 2+ injuries when front seats deformed, and a 61 percent increase in fatal injury for rear-seated children, as compared to front-seated children, in rear impacts. Several interrelated factors, which influence child injury risk in rear impacts, were not evaluated in these field accident statistical studies. These factors include: rear-impact severity levels; front occupant sizes; front seat strength variations and protection levels; vehicle type; (i.e. minivan, sedan, etc.); rear child sizes; and, rear child restraint types. This current study uses an experimental “multi-variable” crash test approach, and “inferred statistical” methodology, to scientifically evaluate the several key factors that effect rear child injury risk in rear impacts. This “multi-variable” methodology was previously utilized by the authors for study of front-seated adult injury risk assessment. Various sizes of rear child surrogates (i.e. 6 month-old up to the 6 year-old Hybrid III size), located behind different sizes of front adult surrogates (i.e. small 50kg female up to larger male surrogates ballasted to 110kg) seated in different strength front seats, were dynamically tested at rear-impact severity speed change levels ranging from about 20 to 50 kph. Both sled-body-buck and full vehicle crash tests were used in this study. Front seat strength levels ranged from the weaker 3.2kN level for single recliner (SR) seats, without belts attached to the seatback, up to the stronger belt-integrated seat (BIS) levels of about 14.7kN. The study results demonstrate that, even absent rear crush intrusion, the easily deforming SR front seats pose a high risk of injury to the rear child, regardless of vehicle type, in contrast to stronger and safer BIS designs.

Compliance with Seat Belt Use in Benin City, Nigeria

2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pius Ehiawaguan Iribhogbe ◽  
Clement Odigie Osime
Keyword(s):  
Road Traffic ◽  
Seat Belt ◽  
Compliance Rate ◽  
Rear Seat ◽  
Motor Vehicles ◽  
Seat Belts ◽  
Front Seat ◽  
Road Traffic Crashes ◽  
Benin City ◽  
Seat Belt Use

AbstractIntroduction:Trauma is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. A quarter of all fatalities due to injury occur due to road traffic crashes with 90% of the fatalities occurring in low- and medium-income countries. Poor compliance with the use of seat belts is a problem in many developing countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of seatbelt compliance in motor vehicles in Benin City, Nigeria.Methods:A five-day, observational study was conducted in strategic locations in Benin City. The compliance rates of drivers, front seat passengers, and rear seat passengers in the various categories of vehicles were evaluated, and the data were subjected to statistical processing using the Program for Epidemiology.Results:A total of 369 vehicles were observed. This consisted of 172 private cars, 64 taxis, 114 buses, 15 trucks, and four other vehicles. The seat belt compliance rate for drivers was 52.3%, front seat passengers 18.4%, and rear seat passengers 6.1%. Drivers of all categories of vehicles were more likely to use the seat belt compared to front seat passengers (p = 0.000) and rear seat passengers (p = 0.000). Drivers of private cars were more likely to use seat belts compared to taxi drivers (p = 0.000) and bus drivers (p = 0.000). Front seat passengers in private cars were more likely to use the seat belt compared to front seat passengers in taxis (p = 0.000) and buses (p = 0.000). Rear seat pas-sengers in private cars also were more likely to use seat belts compared to rear seat passengers in taxis (p = 0.000) and buses (p = 0.000).Conclusions:Compliance with seat belt use in Benin City is low. Legislation, educational campaigns, and enforcement of seat belt use are needed.

Seat Failure in Rear Impacts

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Friedman ◽  
Fiona Gaston ◽  
Jack Bish ◽  
Anthony Sances
Keyword(s):  
Injury Severity ◽  
Crash Severity ◽  
Front Seat ◽  
Risk Of Injury ◽  
Serious Injury ◽  
Rear Impacts

Abstract An analysis of rear end accidents involving 1377 driver and right front seat occupants was conducted examining the probability of seat performance failure as a function of crash severity and the injury severity as a function of both crash severity and seat performance. The results suggest that occupants with seat failures experience serious injury more frequently than without such failures for the same Delta-V. Intrusion into the area behind the occupant’s seat appears to be an important consideration in increasing the risk of injury.

scholarly journals Contrasting Perspectives on the Comfort and Safety of Pedestrians Interacting with Other Road Users

2021 ◽  
Vol 2675 (3) ◽  
pp. 33-43
Author(s):  
Alexander Bigazzi ◽  
Gurdiljot Gill ◽  
Meghan Winters
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Injury Risk ◽  
Road User ◽  
Motor Vehicles ◽  
Advisory Group ◽  
User Interactions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Road Users ◽  
Expert Assessments ◽  
Sample Representation

Assessments of interactions between road users are crucial to understanding comfort and safety. However, observers may vary in their perceptions and ratings of road user interactions. The objective of this paper is to examine how perceptions of yielding, comfort, and safety for pedestrian interactions vary among observers, ranging from members of the public to road safety experts. Video clips of pedestrian interactions with motor vehicles and bicycles were collected from 11 crosswalks and shown to three groups of participants (traffic safety experts, an engaged citizen advisory group, and members of the general public) along with questions about yielding, comfort, and risk of injury. Experts had similar views of yielding and comfort to the other two groups, but a consistently lower assessment of injury risk for pedestrians in the study. Respondent socio-demographics did not relate to perceptions of yielding, comfort, or risk, but self-reported travel habits did. Respondents who reported walking more frequently rated pedestrian comfort as lower, and respondents who reported cycling more frequently rated risk as lower for pedestrian interactions with both motor vehicles and bicycles. Findings suggest small groups of engaged citizens can provide useful information about public perspectives on safety that likely diverge from expert assessments of risk, and that sample representation should be assessed in relation to travel habits rather than socio-demographics.

scholarly journals Using Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES) to examine injury in front vs. rear-seated infants and children involved in a motor vehicle crash in New York State

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Bauer ◽  
Leah Hines ◽  
Emilia Pawlowski ◽  
Jin Luo ◽  
Anne Scott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
New York State ◽  
Outcome Data ◽  
Crash Severity ◽  
Front Seat ◽  
York State ◽  
Child Restraint ◽  
Ed Visits

Abstract Background In New York State (NYS), motor vehicle (MV) injury to child passengers is a leading cause of hospitalization and emergency department (ED) visits in children aged 0–12 years. NYS laws require appropriate child restraints for ages 0–7 years and safety belts for ages 8 and up while traveling in a private passenger vehicle, but do not specify a seating position. Methods Factors associated with injury in front-seated (n = 11,212) compared to rear-seated (n = 93,092) passengers aged 0–12 years were examined by age groups 0–3, 4–7 and 8–12 years using the 2012–2014 NYS Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES). CODES consists of Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) crash reports linked to ED visits and hospitalizations. The front seat was row 1 and the rear rows 2–3. Vehicle towed from scene and air bag deployed were proxies for crash severity. Injury was dichotomized based on Maximum Abbreviated Injury Severity (MAIS) scores greater than zero. Multivariable logistic regression (odds ratios (OR) with 95% CI) was used to examine factors predictive of injury for the total population and for each age group. Results Front-seated children had more frequent injury than those rear-seated (8.46% vs. 4.92%, p < 0.0001). Children in child restraints experienced fewer medically-treated injuries compared to seat belted or unrestrained children (3.80, 6.50 and 13.62%, p < 0.0001 respectively). A higher proportion of children traveling with an unrestrained vs. restrained driver experienced injury (14.50% vs 5.26%, p < 0.0001). After controlling for crash severity, multivariable adjusted predictors of injury for children aged 0–12 years included riding in the front seat (1.20, 1.10–1.31), being unrestrained vs. child restraint (2.13, 1.73–2.62), being restrained in a seat belt vs. child restraint (1.20, 1.11–1.31), and traveling in a car vs. other vehicle type (1.21, 1.14–1.28). Similarly, protective factors included traveling with a restrained driver (0.61, 0.50–0.75), a driver aged < 25 years (0.91, 0.82–0.99), being an occupant of a later vehicle model year 2005–2008 (0.68, 0.53–0.89) or 2009–2015 (0.55, 0.42–0.71) compared to older model years (1970–1993). Conclusions Compared to front-seated children, rear-seated children and children in age-appropriate restraints had lower adjusted odds of medically-treated injury.

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