Citation

Cromack JR, Ziperman HH. Proc. Stapp Car Crash Conf. 1975; 19.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1975, Society of Automotive Engineers SAE)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Injuries produced by standard three-point restraint systems with retractors are compared between cadavers in laboratory simulated collisions at 30 mph barrier equivalent speed and lap and shoulder belted front seat occupants in real world frontal collisions of '73-'75 full sized cars. Tests conducted at Southwest Research Institute with belted, unembalmed, fresh cadavers have resulted in extremely severe thoracic and cervical injuries, including multiple rib fractures, fractures of the sternum, clavicle and cervical vertebrae. On the other hand, injury data from a national accident investigation study to evaluate the effectiveness of restraints in late model passenger cars indicates that such injuries in real world crashes of equivalent severity are not always observed. Possible reasons for these differences are discussed.