A Study on Pedestrian Injuries Based on Minivan and Sedan Real-World Accidents

Abstract

The current paper aims to study the correlation between pedestrian injuries and impact speed in the accidents involved minivan and sedan and the relationship of pedestrian head injuries and calculated physical parameters. The logistic regression models of the risks for pedestrian AIS 3+ injuries and fatalities were developed in terms of vehicle impact speed by analyzing the minivan-pedestrian and sedan-pedestrian accidents in the statistical sample selected from the database of In-depth Investigation Accident of Changsha (IVAC). Eighteen accident cases from the sample were selected to reconstruct using mathematical models of pedestrians and vehicles in MADYMO environment. The logistic regression models of the risks for pedestrian head AIS 3+ injuries were developed in terms of HIC, head linear acceleration, head angle acceleration and angle velocity. The results show that there is a significant correlation among the impact speed and the severity of pedestrian injuries. The minivan poses greater risk to pedestrian than sedan at the same impact speed. There is a significant correlation among pedestrian head AIS 3+ injuries and injury parameters (HIC, head linear acceleration, head angle acceleration, angle velocity). The results provided background knowledge for the development of pedestrian protection countermeasures for the vehicle with high profile of frontal structures.