Crash-Pulse Recorders in Real-Life Accidents: Influence of Change of Velocity and Mean and Peak Acceleration on Injury Risk in Frontal Impacts

Abstract

Several parameters based on acceleration levels, such as mean or peak acceleration, may correlate with injury risk, or may together with change of velocity, explain the risk of injury, and thus may form the risk function for different kind of injuries. The aim was to study the influence on injury risk for mean and peak acceleration and change of velocity as well as how these correlate with each other. The results from 144 crash-pulse recorders and the diagnoses from driver injuries in real-life frontal impacts were analysed. Change of velocity and mean and peak acceleration were calculated from each recorded crash-pulse. The results and conclusions were that Δv, mean and peak accelerations influence the injury risk, where either high Δv, high mean or high peak acceleration may lead to severe injuries. Mean and peak accelerations together may explain the risk of injury in the studied impacts. When these parameters were combined, a limit could be drawn, above which there was an 89% risk of receiving a moderate or severe injury, while the risk was only 5.5% below that line. The different combinations of impact severity parameters shown in this study are helpful when crash pulses are created for crash tests and computer simulations.