Injury Causes and Costs of High Speed Car Crashes

The introduction of both front and side air bags and other technological advances in vehicle restraint systems, designed to protect occupants in both front and side impact crashes, is both reducing overall injury severity, but also radically altering the pattern of injuries. There is a need to understand what this change is, what the injury mechanisms are, what are the costs associated with this, and what could be done to mitigate these injuries. In addition there is a need to monitor the effect of FMVSS 208 and 214 which regulate frontal and side protection.

In order to determine priorities and issues in Crashworthiness research, data must be collected about types of crashes and the resulting injuries that occur on the highways of the United States. Other organizations within R&D collect and analyze such statistics. Among these data collection activities are the programs within the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) such as the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS), the General Estimates System (GES), and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), and approximately 12 years worth of data from 26 states on crashes. CIREN is acquiring a wealth of more detailed injury data in conjunction with crash investigations using Level 1 trauma centers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark, the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, the William Lehman Injury Research Center in Miami, Florida, the National Study Center for Trauma and EMS/ R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, Maryland, Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center in Seattle, Washington, the San Diego County Trauma System in San Diego, California, the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama, and the Inova Regional Trauma Center at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia.

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Motor Vehicle Impact Injury Mechanisms in Children

There are a number of issues relating to the use of child restraint systems in motor vehicles. Seats are often not used correctly, i.e. are wrongly placed or fastened, or are inappropriate for the weight and height of the child. In addition there have been a number of cases where air bags had the unintended effect of injuries which resulted directly from their deployment during an accident. Similarly the use of safety belts without booster seats has resulted in direct injuries. The study will allow a monitoring of the performance of FMVSS213 and the identification of problems in the current standards.

In order to determine priorities and issues in Crashworthiness research, data must be collected about types of crashes and the resulting injuries that occur on the highways of the United States. Other organizations within R&D collect and analyze such statistics. Among these data collection activities are the programs within the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) such as the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS), the General Estimates System (GES), and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), and approximately 12 years worth of data from 26 states on crashes. CIREN is acquiring a wealth of more detailed injury data in conjunction with crash investigations using Level 1 trauma centers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark, the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, the William Lehman Injury Research Center in Miami, Florida, the National Study Center for Trauma and EMS/ R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, Maryland, Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center in Seattle, Washington, the San Diego County Trauma System in San Diego, California, the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama, and the Inova Regional Trauma Center at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia.

Read more from the NHTSA article Motor Vehicle Impact Injury Mechanisms in Children

Assess Safety of Automotive Adaptive Equipment

Because of the relatively small population of persons with disabilities, very little data are available for crashes involving these persons. This project attempts to be pro-active and address potential safety problems before they occur. These problems are anticipated due to the growing number of vehicle operators who have some disability. The project will monitor the problem and react accordingly.

NHTSA has limited experience with adaptive driving equipment. There are no FMVSS directly regulating adaptive driving controls or combinations of equipment that may result in an unsafe vehicle adaptation. In theory, each device used to replace the function of equipment originally provided by the vehicle manufacturer should pass the applicable FMVSS. Otherwise the installer of that equipment would be guilty of "rendering inoperative" a device installed in a vehicle in compliance with FMVSS. Historically, NHTSA has responded to questions regarding installation of adaptive equipment, and whether it will comply with FMVSS, by considering any violation as justified by public need, if it was done in the adaptation of a vehicle for a disabled driver. Now the Agency has responded in an NPRM to allow specific areas of vehicles to be altered t accomodate persons with disabilities. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 211,000 Americans use some sort of adaptive equipment in their vehicles. NHTSA established a Working Group on Automotive Safety for Persons with Disabilities (WGASPD) in April of 1994 to familiarize the agency with the needs and problems of persons with disabilities who use motor vehicles. This goal was accomplished and a research team was formed in its place to identify areas of research.

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Electric Vehicle Safety

Design, weight and weight distribution for EV's/HEV's may be such that compliance with existing crashworthiness safety standards will pose difficulties. Additionally, there are potential hazards during a crash of electric shock, contact with toxic electrolytes, and battery system explosion.

Federal and state requirements based on environmental concerns are leading manufacturers to develop low or zero emission vehicles that may be marketed in significant numbers within the next few years. A regulation of the California Air Resources Board requires that ten percent of a manufacturer's sales must be zero emission vehicles (ZEV's) beginning in model year 2003. Credits will also be given for the production of hybrid low, ultra-low and super-ultra-low emission vehicles, which could bring the actual ZEV numbers down to around four percent of the vehicles sold (approximately 22,000 ZEV's in 2003).

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