Citation

Frampton RJ, Mackay GM, Parkin S. Proc. IRCOBI 1992; 20: 373-383.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, International Research Council on Biomechanics of Injury)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper analysis field study accident data. The aim is to determine the effect of the steering wheel on head/face injuries to restrained drivers in frontal impact. Facial contusion and laceration was the most common injury for those drivers sustaining only minor injury to the head/face from the wheel. Of those sustaining more major injury, the head became the more important body region. When collision severity was considered, the likelihood and severity of head/face injuries from direct wheel contact was shown to increase with the Equivalent Test Speed. Those injuries were much more likely than not at speeds above 40 km/h. Wheel rearward and upward displacement and compromise of the head ride down envelope was also seen to increase with collision severity. However, for speed changes up to 50 km/h only 2.3% of wheels showed residual displacement upward and/or rearward greater than 12 cm. The role of wheel intrusion into the head ride down envelope was shown to have an important bearing on the likelihood of head/face injury. For the same collision severity, substantially more restrained drivers sustained head/face injury under conditions of moderate and high compromise of that envelope than those experiencing negligible compromise.