Injuries sustained by car occupants were studied on the basis of representative material comprising 29000 accidents. As a unit of reference in defining typical accident categories, the relative collision speed (RCS) was defined, rendering it possible to take into account of real life factors. The importance of the RCS as a categorizing method is discussed in relation to the equivalent test speed (ETS) in crash tests. The frequency of actual accidents with regard to five typical accident categories and the resulting passenger injuries are indicated.
Abstract