The assessment of airbag deployment and seatbelt use in preventing facial injuries (original) (raw)

The epidemiology of facial fractures in automotive collisions

Annals of advances in automotive medicine

This study examines the pattern of facial fractures in automotive collisions using the National Automotive Sampling System -Crashworthiness Data System. The database was examined for trends within collision and occupant descriptors among occupants sustaining facial fractures. Drivers and right front passengers were included in an analysis of frontal collisions. Side impacts were assessed separately by identifying occupants exposed to near and far side collisions. The distribution of facial bone fractures and injury sources were demonstrated for each impact configuration. Risk ratios were used to demonstrate the effects of restraint use and airbag deployment. Seatbelts were found to reduce the risk of sustaining a facial fracture by 74% in frontal impacts. Facial fractures are associated with severe impacts with a risk of 5% at a Delta-V of 40 km/h and 65 km/h for unbelted and belted occupants respectively.

Patterns of Facial Fractures and Protective Device Use in Motor Vehicle Collisions From 2007 to 2012

JAMA facial plastic surgery, 2016

Facial fractures after motor vehicle collisions are a significant source of facial trauma in patients seen at trauma centers. With recent changes in use of seat belts and advances in airbag technology, new patterns in the incidence of facial fractures after motor vehicle collisions have yet to be quantified. To evaluate the incidence of facial fractures and assess the influence of protective device use in motor vehicle collisions in patients treated at trauma centers in the United States. Using a data set from the National Trauma Data Bank, we retrospectively assessed facial fractures in motor vehicle collisions occurring from 2007 through 2012, reported by level I, II, III, and IV trauma centers. Data analysis was performed from March 13 to September 22, 2015. We characterized the data set by subsite of facial injury using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes including mandible, midface, and nasal fractures. We assessed the influence of variables such as a...

Effectiveness of airbag restraints in frontal crashes - what European field studies tell us

2000

UK and German field accident data show that European airbag systems provide a 32% and 55% reduction in Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 2+ injury to the cranium and face when belted drivers sustain Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS) 2+ injury in frontal crashes. The greatest benefits of airbags were seen in crashes exceeding 30 km/h delta V (velocity change). Airbags do not appear to affect a reduction in chest injuries and they exert a neutral influence on the incidence of cervical spine strain. Drivers in airbag vehicles sustained proportionately more AIS 2+ upper limb injuries than those in vehicles without airbags. That difference was largely the result of a higher proportion of clavicle fractures. Overall, deployment thresholds correlate well to the onset of moderate/serious head injury but there appear to be some unnecessary deployments at low crash severities. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference see ITRD E206422.

The nature and source of the head injuries sustained by restrained front-seat car occupants in frontal collisions

Accident Analysis & Prevention, 1995

The paper examines the types of head injury sustained by restrained front-seat car occupants in frontal collisions. Injuries are classified into soft tissue, diffuse and focal brain injuries and facial bone or skull fractures. Survivors seldom sustain focal injuries although these are common amongst fatalities. The contact sources within the car are described. Intruding structures and high crash severities are typically associated with high rates of the more severe injuries from steering wheel contact, although some are sustained with intrusion below 11 cm. Low-speed impact testing on nondeployed airbag-equipped wheels is suggested. Toughened glass windscreens are overrepresented amongst those sustaining injuries from glazing materials. Test procedures to reduce injuries from pillar contacts should take account of the dynamic effects of an intruding pillar. Contacts with objects outside the car caused higher rates of severe fractures and brain injury; however, the total numbers are greater from interior contacts.

Assessment of the efficacy of vehicle side airbags: A matched cohort study of vehicle-to-vehicle side collisions using the GIDAS database

Current literature, whilst limited, highlights inconsistencies in the efficacy of vehicle torso side airbags (tSAB). The objective of this study is to further investigate this using data from the German In-depth Accident Study (GIDAS). Collisions involving vehicle-vehicle/light-truck interaction, whereby an injured occupant is seated nearside and in the front row, was used. From this, a matched cohort study is undertaken, in which collisions with a torso side airbag (exposure) deployed are paired with similar collisions without a tSAB (non-exposure) on the basis of; occupant, vehicle and collision characteristics. This pairing process is automated by a Genetic Matching algorithm that calculates a matrix of optimal weighting values for the selected matching criteria and is capable of returning multiple non-exposure collisions per exposure collision. A conditional logistic regression then outputs the Odds Ratios for a given injury severity. Results show that for collisions with a deployed tSAB, the risk of overall thoracic injury was not reduced (MAIS1+, OR=1.08, 95%CI [0.65-1.82]), however a non-significant reduced risk for rib fracture occurred (MAIS1+, RR=0.67, 95%CI [0.29-1.54]). When stratified by change of velocity, a strong protective effect for the thoracic region occurred for dV range similar to Euro N-CAP testing (MAIS1+, RR=0.48, 95%CI [0.18-1.27]), however an increased risk of injury occurred for greater speeds (MAIS1+, RR=1.63, 95%CI [0.59-4.4]). Additionally the occupant may be more susceptible to light thoracic injury at mid-low impact speeds (MAIS1+, RR=2.48, 95%CI [0.93-6.16]).

Neck injuries in frontal impacts: influence of crash pulse characteristics on injury risk

Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2000

AIS1 neck injuries are the most frequent disabling injuries among car occupants in road traffic accidents. Although neck injury is mostly regarded as resulting from rear end collisions, almost one third of all neck injuries occur in frontal impacts. The injury mechanisms in both rear-end and frontal impacts are still not known, although different hypotheses exist. Since 1992, approx. 100 000 vehicles on the Swedish market have been equipped with crash recorders to measuring frontal impacts. This paper analyses the influence of different characteristics derived from the acceleration time history on the risk of short-and long-term disability to the neck in frontal impacts. The study includes injury outcomes from 187 restrained front seat occupants in 143 frontal collisions with an overlap exceeding 25%, where the crash pulses have been recorded using crash pulse recorders. The results show that the shape of the crash pulse influences the risk of long-term disability to the neck. The vehicle accelerations in the mid and last third of the crash pulse seem to be important. It is also shown how change of velocity and mean and peak accelerations influence the neck-injury risk. It is suggested that the risk of sustaining an AIS1 neck injury in frontal impacts could be reduced by using more effective pretensioners and more advanced belt-load limiters. These results may also have implications for neck injury mechanisms in rear-end impacts.

The effects of airbags and seatbelts on occupant injury in longitudinal barrier crashes

Journal of Safety Research, 2010

Introduction: Longitudinal barriers, such as guardrails, are designed to prevent a vehicle that leaves the roadway from impacting a more dangerous object while minimizing the risk of injury to the vehicle occupants. Current full-scale test procedures for these devices do not consider the effect of occupant restraints such as seatbelts and airbags. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which restraints are used or deployed in longitudinal barrier collisions and their subsequent effect on occupant injury. Methods: Binary logistic regression models were generated to predict occupant injury risk using data from the National Automotive Sampling System / Crashworthiness Data System from 1997 through 2007. Results: In tow-away longitudinal barrier crashes, airbag deployment rates were 70% for airbag-equipped vehicles. Compared with unbelted occupants without an airbag available, seat belt restrained occupants with an airbag available had a dramatically decreased risk of receiving a serious (MAIS 3+) injury (odds-ratio (OR) = 0.03; 95% CI: 0.004-0.24). A similar decrease was observed among those restrained by seat belts, but without an airbag available (OR = 0.03; 95% CI: 0.001-0.79). No significant differences in risk of serious injuries were observed between unbelted occupants with an airbag available compared with unbelted occupants without an airbag available (OR = 0.53; 95% CI = 0.10-2.68). Impact on Industry: This study refutes the perception in the roadside safety community that airbags rarely deploy in frontal barrier crashes, and suggests that current longitudinal barrier occupant risk criteria may overestimate injury potential for restrained occupants involved in a longitudinal barrier crash.

41 Gaylor 2015 Assessment of the efficacy of vehicle side airbags - A matched cohort study of vehicle‐vehicle side collisions using the GIDAS database

Current literature, whilst limited, highlights inconsistencies in the efficacy of vehicle torso side airbags (tSAB). The objective of this study is to further investigate this using data from the German In-depth Accident Study (GIDAS). Collisions involving vehicle-vehicle/light-truck interaction, whereby an injured occupant is seated nearside and in the front row, was used. From this, a matched cohort study is undertaken, in which collisions with a torso side airbag (exposure) deployed are paired with similar collisions without a tSAB (non-exposure) on the basis of; occupant, vehicle and collision characteristics. This pairing process is automated by a Genetic Matching algorithm that calculates a matrix of optimal weighting values for the selected matching criteria and is capable of returning multiple non-exposure collisions per exposure collision. A conditional logistic regression then outputs the Odds Ratios for a given injury severity. Results show that for collisions with a deployed tSAB, the risk of overall thoracic injury was not reduced (MAIS1+, OR=1.08, 95%CI [0.65-1.82]), however a non-significant reduced risk for rib fracture occurred (MAIS1+, RR=0.67, 95%CI [0.29-1.54]). When stratified by change of velocity, a strong protective effect for the thoracic region occurred for dV range similar to Euro N-CAP testing (MAIS1+, RR=0.48, 95%CI [0.18-1.27]), however an increased risk of injury occurred for greater speeds (MAIS1+, RR=1.63, 95%CI [0.59-4.4]). Additionally the occupant may be more susceptible to light thoracic injury at mid-low impact speeds (MAIS1+, RR=2.48, 95%CI [0.93-6.16]).