Citation

Kent RW, Crandall JR, Bolton JR, Duma SM. Annu. Proc. Assoc. Adv. Automot. Med. 2000; 44: 261-282.

Affiliation

Automobile Safety Laboratory, University of Virginia, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11558087

PMCID

PMC3217373

Abstract

Restrained driver and right-front passenger kinematics and injury outcome in frontal collisions are compared using FARS data and human cadaver sled tests. The FARS data indicate that a frontal airbag may provide greater benefit for a passenger than for a driver. The thoracic injuries sustained by passenger subjects restrained by a force-limited, pretensioned belt and airbag are evaluated, and kinematics are compared to driver-side subjects. The injury-predictive ability of existing thoracic injury criteria is evaluated for passenger-side occupants. Driver and passenger kinematic differences are identified and the implications are discussed. The chest acceleration of the passenger-side subjects exhibited a bimodal profile with an initial (and global) maximum before the subject loaded the airbag. A second acceleration peak occurred as the subject loaded both the belt and the airbag. A similarly restrained driver-side subject loaded the belt and airbag concurrently at the time of peak chest acceleration and therefore did not exhibit this bimodal chest acceleration.