Influence of the Driver Conditions on the Injury Outcome in Front Impact Collisions

Abstract

Changes in the driver's posture and velocity caused by inertia during an emergency braking are believed to affect the injury outcome in front impact collisions. Moreover, at equivalent impact conditions, the results from real-world data analysis show the increased risk of injury in the cases in which an emergency braking preceded the accident. The objective of this study is to further investigate the relationship between such driver's pre-crash conditions and the injury outcome by using a computer human model. A finite element human model (JAMA model) and the results of the pre-impact experiments with volunteers were employed for this purpose. By simulating the same two accidents after different pre-impact conditions it was concluded that the presence of a pre-impact emergency braking increased the severity of the loading mechanism sustained by the driver, especially on the thoracic region. KEY WORDS: (Standardized) safety, finite element method (FEM), driver behavior (Free) emergency braking, injury mechanism, front impact, human model. [C1]