HEAD INJURIES IN LATERAL IMPACT COLLISIONS
Individual non-minor injuries (Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) greater than or equal to 2) to the head that occurred to belted and unbelted drivers and front seat passengers on the struck side of impacted vehicles were examined. Injury type, injury combination, collision severity in relation to type of injury as well as contact sources were assessed. Forty-eight percent of injuries were moderate in severity (AIS 2). The most common type of injury was the diffuse brain injury, typically marked by a short period of unconsciousness, which occurred in collisions of lower severity than focal brain and skull fracture injuries. One-hundred and five out of 216 (48.6%) of contact sources for all injury types originated from outside the vehicle and such exterior sources were more likely to result in high severity injuries. Thirty percent of injuries resulted from head contacts with other vehicles. The most frequent vehicle interior contact source was the side window glass. Diffuse injuries tended to occur independently of other injury types and were more likely to originate from an interior rather than exterior contact. Preventative measures for head injury reduction in lateral collisions are discussed. Overall, the data show that proposed and present European and U.S. lateral impact test methods do not address many head injury problems such as those included in this study.
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Availability:
- Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00014575
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Corporate Authors:
The Boulevard, Langford Lane
Kidlington, Oxford United Kingdom OX5 1GB -
Authors:
- MORRIS, A
- Hassan, A
- MacKay, M
- Hill, J
- Publication Date: 1995-12
Language
- English
Media Info
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: p. 749-756
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Serial:
- Accident Analysis & Prevention
- Volume: 27
- Issue Number: 6
- Publisher: Elsevier
- ISSN: 0001-4575
- Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00014575
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Crash tests; Crashes; Drivers; Front seat occupants; Head; Injuries; Injury severity; Safety; Side crashes; Test procedures; Testing
- Uncontrolled Terms: Head injuries; Injury prevention
- Subject Areas: Highways; Passenger Transportation; Research; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00719428
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Report/Paper Numbers: HS-041 801
- Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
- Created Date: Mar 19 1996 12:00AM