The Causes of Head Injury in Vehicle-Pedestrian Impacts: Comparing the Relative Danger of Vehicle and Road Surface

Kendall, Robert; Meissner, Mark; Crandall, Jeff

doi:10.4271/2006-01-0462

Cited by 27 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Hence, assessing the influence specific car components on the risk of injuries is a complex task [52]. It was emphasized that estimates of countermeasure efficacy cannot be based on the assumption that all injuries are solely caused by vehicle-related factors, but monitoring post-vehicle impact kinematics is crucial to address injuries during crashes completely [53]. This study showed that a higher bonnet height in frontal collisions was associated with an increased likelihood of head contact, while a lower height led to a higher chance of chest contact.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of car front-end designs on motorcyclists’ trajectory in head-on and side-on-head crashes

Perticone,

Nardomarino,

Baldanzini

2024

IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng.

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Motorcyclists are highly vulnerable road users, and cars are one of their primary crash opponents. This study investigates the influence of car front-end designs on motorcyclist trajectory in head-on and side-on-head crashes. The analysis is based on a dataset of 120 multi-body crash simulations conducted using MADYMO and post-processed with MATLAB. An analysis of 1412 real-world Powered Two-Wheeler (PTW) to car accidents was conducted to determine the most common crash configurations and the associated ranges of the variables, such as vehicle speeds and contact points. Three PTW styles (sport-touring, scooter, and sport) and four car front-end designs (Sport utility vehicle (SUV), Family Car/Sedan (FCR), Roadster (RDS), and Multi-purpose vehicle (MPV)) were considered. The study examined the riders’ thrown distance in both collision types. It was observed that, regardless of the collision type, the head was identified overall as the primary body region coming into contact with the opposing vehicle, followed by the chest and neck. In frontal collisions, an augmented bonnet height corresponded to an increased incidence of head contact, whereas a lower bonnet height resulted in a higher frequency of chest contact. Moreover, the thrown distance depended also on PTW speed, particularly for sport and sport-touring motorcycles. Notably, contact with the car windscreen was only observed at velocities exceeding 60 km/h, whereas impact with the bonnet leading edge occurred exclusively below this threshold. Due to the shielding effect of their PTW’s fairing, scooter riders predominantly experienced no contact with the opposing vehicle. Sport-touring motorcycles exhibited a more vertical trajectory upon ejection, leading to a greater likelihood of overturning and subsequent rearward head impact with the vehicle. In contrast, sport motorcycles tended to forward projections with a high likelihood of chest contact. In the case of lateral impacts, it was observed that vehicles with a more prominent profile, such as SUVs and MPVs, equipped with protruding bumpers, effectively restrained riders. In this case, vehicle speed did not exert a significant influence on the thrown distance. Additionally, the presence of a conspicuous fuel tank and the initial posture of the rider on the PTW played a crucial role in determining the final thrown distance. Due to their upright postures and the absence of a pronounced fuel tank, scooter dummies were thrown further than others, thus causing head contact with the windscreen. These findings highlight the importance of car front-end design and PTW fairings in mitigating riders’ injuries and provide valuable insights to vehicle manufacturers for developing tailored safety measures for riders.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of car front-end designs on motorcyclists’ trajectory in head-on and side-on-head crashes

Perticone,

Nardomarino,

Baldanzini

2024

IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng.

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“…Previous studies indicated that determining the pedestrian landing injury risk was less predictable than determining that for injury risks for the pedestrian’s primary impact with the vehicle, 25,40,41 and that it was difficult to analyze the effect of each of the structural parameters on the pedestrian landing injury risk. To understand the effect of a pop-up bonnet on the secondary impact, Gupta and Yang conducted simulations using a vehicle model with the pop-up bonnet.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of vehicle front-end safety countermeasures on pedestrian head injury risk during ground impact

Shi

Han

Huang

et al. 2019

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D:

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Pedestrian safety countermeasures such as pop-up bonnets and exterior pedestrian airbags have been shown to decrease the pedestrian injury risk caused by vehicle impacts (primary impact). However, it is still unknown whether these devices could prevent or mitigate pedestrian injuries resulting from ground impacts (secondary impact). In order to understand how the vehicle safety countermeasures prevent pedestrian head injuries caused by primary and secondary impacts, a total of 252 vehicle-to-pedestrian impact simulations were conducted using the MADYMO code. The simulations accounted for three types of vehicle configurations (a baseline vehicle and vehicles with the two aforementioned vehicle safety countermeasures) along with five front-end structural parameters at three vehicle impact velocities (30, 40, and 50 km/h). The simulation results show that the bonnet leading edge height was the most sensitive parameter affecting the head-to-vehicle impact location and that caused different head injuries resulting from the local stiffness in the location impacted. Moreover, the bonnet leading edge height was the leading governing factor on the pedestrian rotation angle in the secondary impact. The vehicle equipped with a pop-up bonnet and an external airbag could cause a larger pedestrian rotation angle at 30 km/h than that in the other two vehicle types, but conversely could cause a smaller pedestrian rotation angle at 40 and 50 km/h. Also, the vehicle equipped with pop-up bonnet and external airbag systems could lead a higher pedestrian flight altitude than that of the baseline type. A vehicle equipped with a pop-up bonnet and external airbag systems provide improved protection for the pedestrian’s head in the primary impact, but may not prevent the injury risk and/or even cause more severe injuries in secondary impacts.

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“…Studies using US or German data have indicated that 17 to 31 percent of all pedestrian injuries were caused by ground impacts for AIS1+ or AIS2+ injuries (Liers 2009;Otte and Pohlemann 2001;Zhang et al 2008). Because ground impact is difficult to investigate as a result of its lower predictability (Kendall et al 2006), dummy models have not been validated for this event. To conclude, this study investigated only the primary impact between the vehicle and the pedestrian.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential of Pedestrian Protection Systems—A Parameter Study Using Finite Element Models of Pedestrian Dummy and Generic Passenger Vehicles

Fredriksson

Shin

Untaroiu

2011

Traffic Injury Prevention

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The Causes of Head Injury in Vehicle-Pedestrian Impacts: Comparing the Relative Danger of Vehicle and Road Surface

Cited by 27 publications

References 6 publications

Influence of car front-end designs on motorcyclists’ trajectory in head-on and side-on-head crashes

Influence of car front-end designs on motorcyclists’ trajectory in head-on and side-on-head crashes

Effects of vehicle front-end safety countermeasures on pedestrian head injury risk during ground impact

Potential of Pedestrian Protection Systems—A Parameter Study Using Finite Element Models of Pedestrian Dummy and Generic Passenger Vehicles

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