Jeya Padmanaban

Relationship between Seatback Stiffness/Strength and Risk of Serious/Fatal Injury in Rear-Impact Crashes

To determine the relationship between seatback stiffness or strength and the likelihood of serious/fatal injury for drivers and rear seat occupants in rear-impact crashes, analyses were performed using 1995-2006 policereported crash data from eleven states. Seatback stiffness and strength data was included for 29 different seatback designs used in 40 vehicle models (model years 1995-2006). Results indicate there is no statistically significant relationship between seatback stiffness or strength and the risk of serious/fatal injury in rear-impact crashes. Factors shown to have statistically significant effect on the likelihood of serious/fatal injury in rear-impact collisions include occupant age, gender, and alcohol impairment; vehicle type; and vehicle mass ratio.

RASSI: A Systematic Approach for On-site Crash Investigations and In-depth Accident Data Collection in India

India’s growing trend of serious road accidents has created an urgent need to understand the primary factors involved in these crashes and in the resulting severe injuries and fatalities. In order to improve the safety of highways and automobiles for all road users, a consortium of safety researchers and vehicle manufacturers has come together to collect first-hand, detailed and consistent crash and injury data for traffic accidents on Indian roads. After 3 years of pilot studies, a methodology, called Road Accident Sampling System – India (RASSI), has been developed for conducting on-site crash investigations and collecting in-depth accident data on road accidents in India. The processes developed under RASSI to investigate on-site crashes and collect quality accident data suitable for detailed analysis are described. The program includes all types of traffic accidents with injury outcomes. This paper focuses on the current investigation area of the Coimbatore district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The RASSI team consists of trained automotive engineers and injury coding experts who work in collaboration with the State police. To assure that the data collected will serve not only current but unforeseen future research needs, on-site crash investigations include - (1) photographing the crash site and vehicles and creating true-toscale diagrams of the accident scene; (2) examining crash vehicles, including deformations, intrusions and human contacts; and (3) detailed injury coding of the involved victims. Critical crash information, such as driving and collision speed, Delta-v, is determined from traces at the scene as well as from vehicle deformation patterns for the assessment of energy speed absorption. The possible ways to make calculations and accident reconstructions from the collected data are described, and the benefit of such comprehensive in-depth accident data collection is shown, along with examples correlating technical parameters with injury outcome.