German automobile insurance companies investigated automobile accidents with personal injury that occurred in west Germany in 1969 involving liability insurance. Insurance documents supplied all important data on the accident, automobile damage with precise description of the car involved and passenger injuries. The great number of cases examined enabled personal injuries that occurred in corresponding accidents of different models, of cars to compared. Thus, the effectiveness of safety measures could be studied in real accidents. A survey was made of passenger injuries and car damages. A clear connection was found between automobile design and risk of injury. Shock absorbing zones help to reduce damage inside the car. The position of the windshield, design and height of the dash-board and the construction of steering column have general effects on injuries. A safety doorlock fixed in a longitudinal direction is very important to avoid the highly dangerous catapulting of passenger out of the car. When comparing head and especially eye injuries the advantages of HPR laminated windshields in contrast to the tempered glass are obvious. Only perfectly upholstered dash-boards help to reduce injuries to the knee. By means of head restraints which have to be securely attached to the seat - but not head restraints which are only slipped on to the seat - injuries to cervical-vertebrae can be avoided. The effectiveness of safety belts was proved, findings showed that the speed of collision was generally below that demanded by the safety tests in the "Deutsche Lastenheft" (German specifications) so that an application of these tests should succeed in reducing the injuries to passengers. See also IRRD abstract no. 206226.
Abstract