Abstract
ABSTRACT This study aimed to use a simulated vehicle to asses quantitatively the head and neck injuries of the occupants, in a frontal car crash, when the driver has only one hand on the steering wheel, such as while using a cell phone when driving. First, we conducted a survey of NHTSA reports on real laboratory tests of frontal collisions involving sedans. The effects of these collisions on the neck of a Hybrid III 50th percentile male crash test dummy were measured in terms of average head acceleration and force along the X, Z, and Y-axes. These acceleration, force and torque values obtained from the NHTSA database were used to validate the simulated model. The results obtained were compared with case E, the standard dummy position used in frontal collision tests. The results obtained in the simulation of the four cases of driving with only one hand demonstrate a probability of more than 67% that the driver will sustain AIS+2 injuries during a frontal crash. In all the cases, the skull fracture percentage was the most representative, occurring between 89 and 94% of cases where the driver had only one hand on the steering wheel.
Highlights
Recent decades have seen a significant increase in the number of frontal car accidents and resulting injuries
This study aimed at assessing potential crash test dummy head and neck injuries in a frontal collision, for 4 positions where the driver steers with only one hand
In order to compare the injuries caused in a frontal crash when the driver is steering with only one hand, figures 11 and 12 present the probability of head injury as a function of HIC15 (Fig. 11) and the probability of skull fracture as a function of the skull fracture correlate (SFC) (Fig. 12) for each of the positions (A, B, C, D and E)
Summary
Recent decades have seen a significant increase in the number of frontal car accidents and resulting injuries. Reaching for an object, tuning the radio, eating, drinking, handling electronic devices such as cell phones, GPS units, and tablets, among others can divert a driver’s attention and compromise their ability to react and avoid a collision [6]. These unnecessary distractions are a major risk for collision, since they can cause cognitive failure, driving errors and traffic violations such as driving with one hand long enough to have tragic consequences [7]
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