TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2020//
TI  - Kinematics of inboard-leaning occupants in frontal impacts
JO  - Traffic injury prevention
A1  - Donlon, John-Paul
A1  - Richardson, Rachel
A1  - Jayathirtha, Mohan
A1  - Forman, Jason
A1  - Kerrigan, Jason
A1  - Kent, Richard
A1  - Arbogast, Kristy B.
A1  - Maripudi, Vivek
A1  - Scavnicky, Mike
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - <b>Objective:</b> Up to one-half of drivers swerve before a crash, which may cause vehicle motions that displace an occupant from a normal seated position. How these altered postures affect occupant restraint in a crash is unknown. The goal of this study was to quantify the effect of an initial inboard lean on occupant kinematics in a frontal impact.<b>Methods:</b> 30 km/h frontal impact tests were performed with three postmortem human subjects (PMHS) seated in a neutral, upright posture and in a 20° inboard-leaning posture identified from simulated swerving tests with human volunteers.<b>Results:</b> In comparison to the upright posture, the inboard-leaning posture increased the initial distance from the D-ring to the belted shoulder by 105-156 mm. In the inboard-leaning tests, the occupant's head displaced 45-70 mm farther forward than in the upright tests and was also located 123-147 mm farther inboard at the time of maximum forward excursion. The peak resultant velocity of the occupant's head relative to the vehicle interior increased 1.40-1.54 m/s in the inboard-leaning tests.<b>Conclusions:</b> The posture-induced increase in the distance between the D-ring and the shoulder permitted the increased maximum forward head displacement and increased maximum head resultant velocity relative to the vehicle interior. Thus, an initial inboard lean in a frontal impact may increase the risk and severity of a head strike to the vehicle interior, and alter the location, timing, and nature of airbag engagement.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1538-9588
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2020.1745787
ID  - ref1
ER  -