In this study, field accident data from the National Accident Sampling System/Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS) in the US and the Co-operative Crash Injury Study (CCIS) in the United Kingdom are compared. The UK sample is deliberately weighted to conform to the same Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) proportions (within AIS 2-6) as the weighted NASS data so that crash severity distributions can be compared for various selected outcomes. Age and gender have a significant effect on the delta-V (velocity change) distributions and median delta-V values. These differences are documented both for overall AIS 2-6, 3-6, and 4-6, and also for body regions of the head, neck, chest, abdomen and upper and lower extremities. Anomalies between the two samples are profound which raises doubts about the recording of belt use in NASS and the calculation of delta V at lower crash severities. (A)
Samenvatting