Traffic injury prevention
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2015
Expanding pedestrian injury risk to the body region level: how to model passive safety systems in pedestrian injury risk functions.
Assessment of the effectiveness of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) plays a crucial role in accident research. A common way to evaluate the effectiveness of new systems is to determine the potentials for injury severity reduction. Because injury risk functions describe the probability of an injury of a given severity conditional on a technical accident severity (closing speed, delta V, barrier equivalent speed, etc.), they are predestined for such evaluations. ⋯ The body region-specific risk functions can then be used to model the effect of improved passive safety systems. These modified body region-specific injury risk functions are aggregated to a new pedestrian injury risk function. Passive safety systems can therefore be modeled in injury risk functions for the first time. A short example on how the results can be used for assessing the effectiveness of new driver assistance systems concludes the article.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2015
Census study of real-life near-side crashes with modern side airbag-equipped vehicles in the United States.
This study aimed to investigate the crash characteristics, injury distribution, and injury mechanisms for Maximum Abbreviated Injury Score (MAIS) 2+ injured belted, near-side occupants in airbag-equipped modern vehicles. Furthermore, differences in injury distribution for senior occupants compared to non-senior occupants was investigated, as well as whether the near-side occupant injury risk to the head and thorax increases or decreases with a neighboring occupant. ⋯ Compared to non-senior occupants, the senior occupants sustained a considerably higher rate of thoracic and pelvis injuries, which should be addressed by improved thorax side airbag protection. The influence on near-side occupant injury risk by the neighboring occupant should also be further evaluated. Furthermore, side airbag performance and injury assessments in intersection crashes, especially those involving senior occupants in lower severities, should be further investigated and side impact dummy biofidelity and injury criteria must be determined for these crash scenarios.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2015
Statistical analysis of bicyclists' injury severity at unsignalized intersections.
This study investigated factors correlated with the severity of injuries sustained by bicyclists in bicycle-motor vehicle crashes at unsignalized intersections to develop site-specific countermeasures and interventions to improve bicycle safety. ⋯ Based on these results, we suggest the development of educational programs focused on the following groups: child bicyclists, older bicyclists, and older drivers. Investigating and modifying street lighting could improve bicycle safety. Implementing road diets/traffic calming methods could create a safer traffic environment. Certain traffic control strategies (e.g., stop control) could be considered for uncontrolled intersections with high bicycle exposure, and helmet campaigns should be launched to increase helmet awareness and use. The study also suggests some interesting future research directions, including examining driver/bicyclist behaviors at uncontrolled intersections and studying the riding behaviors of child bicyclists in Kentucky.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2015
Effects of LATCH versus Available Seatbelt Installation of Rear Facing Child Restraint Systems on Head Injury Criteria for 6 Month Old Infants in Rear End Collisions.
The Lower Anchor and Tethers for CHildren (LATCH) system was introduced in vehicles made after September 1, 2002 and intended to make installation of rear and forward-facing child safety seats easier. Due to the lack of rear impact testing of RFCRS required per the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), the purpose of this study was to explore the effects, if any, of installation method of RFCRS on the performance of commonly purchased makes and models of RFCRS. Specifically, we hypothesize that in a 48 km/h (29.8 MPH) rear-end collision, installation of RFCRS using the LATCH system will result in higher Head Injury Criteria (HIC) values when compared to using the available lap/shoulder seatbelt (Emergency Locking Retractor - ELR or Automatic Locking Retractor - ALR). ⋯ The results of this study suggest that LATCH does not offer equal protection to lap/shoulder belts from head injuries in rear impacts when used with infant seat type RFCRS.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2015
Effect of aging on brain injury prediction in rotational head trauma--a parameter study with a rat finite element model.
The aim of this study was to investigate the possible effects of age-related intracranial changes on the potential outcome of diffuse axonal injuries and acute subdural hematoma under rotational head loading. ⋯ The findings presented in this study suggest that age-specific injury thresholds should be developed to enable the development of superior restraint systems for the elderly. The findings also motivate other further studies on age-dependency of head trauma.