Safety Belt and Occupant Factors Influencing Thoracic & Upper Abdominal Injuries in Frontal Crashes General Motors Company

Format:

Conference/Event

Author/Creator:

Lu, Lu, author.

Contributor:

Andreen, Margaret

Faust, Daniel

Furton, Lisa

Holcombe, Sven

Kohoyda-Inglis, Carla

Putala, Brian

Wang, Stewart

Yee, Jack

Conference Name:

SAE 2011 World Congress & Exhibition (2011-04-12 : Detroit, Michigan, United States)

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Warrendale, PA SAE International 2011

Summary:

This paper reports on a study that examines the effect ofshoulder belt load limiters and pretensioners as well as crash andoccupant factors that influence upper torso harm in real-worldfrontal crashes. Cases from the University of MichiganInternational Center for Automotive Medicine (ICAM) database wereanalyzed. Additional information was used from other databasesincluding the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA) New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), the Insurance Institutefor Highway Safety (IIHS), the National Automotive Sampling System- Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS), and patient dataavailable from the University of Michigan Trauma Center. The ICAMdatabase is comprised of information from real-world crashes inwhich occupants were seriously injured and required treatment at aLevel 1 Trauma Center. Cases from the database were included inthis study if they met the following criteria: (a) the primarycollision involved a frontal type crash and; (b) case occupantswere seated in front outboard positions, restrained by 3-pointsafety belts and deployed frontal airbags.One hundred thirty-three (133) case occupants who sustainednearly 1,800 injuries were selected for study from the ICAMdatabase. The study included evaluations of skeletal, organ, andvessel injuries to the upper torso. Potential influencing factorswere divided into three general categories: vehicle factors (id est,seatbelt design); occupant factors; and crash related factors.Considering the challenges and limitations for analysis of fieldaccident data and within the scope of this study, data indicatedthat: case occupants without shoulder belt load limitersexperienced a higher level of upper torso harm in lower severityfrontal crashes. The average Delta V for case occupants withshoulder belt load limiters was significantly higher (7.1 km/h, 34%greater crash energy) than that for the case occupants without loadlimiters. Case occupants with shoulder belt load limiters hadsignificantly fewer clavicle fractures in frontal crashes. For the62 case occupants with load limiters, the presence or absence ofpretensioners did not appear to substantially change the crashseverity associated with AIS 2 upper torso harm. Lower bonemineral density of the L4 vertebra was indicative of susceptibilityto upper torso skeletal injuries. Smaller psoas muscle crosssection area was indicative of susceptibility to upper torsointernal and skeletal injuries

Notes:

Vendor supplied data

Publisher Number:

2011-01-1129

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license