Much knowledge has been gained during the past few years about the nature and cause of whiplash injuries. This paper is an attempt to summarise the findings and proposes the directions which future research could take. Reducing the relative intervertebral acceleration and thereby the injury risk in all situations is difficult to achieve. Therefore there should be a focus on reducing the maximum and mean occupant acceleration using the vehicle's body structure and safety systems. In rear crashes the main issue is that the seat absorbs energy in a controlled manner and gives support for the whole spine. In frontal crashes the air bag, seat belt pretensioner and load limiter probably must work together in reducing the relative acceleration between the vertebrae, the maximum and the mean occupant acceleration. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E202589.
Abstract