In this study approximately 7500 rear end impacts with personal injuries were investigated. The statistical data were taken from the "Vehicle Safety 90" (VdS, 1994), a database which contains 15,000 actual car to car accidents with at least one occupant injured in Germany (old states only) during 1990. From these investigations several factors which influence neck injuries in rear end collisions could be evaluated. In addition, sled tests with volunteers were performed for some selected car seats. The head-neck kinematics of the occupants was measured and visualized. Identical test conditions as far as possible have been chosen in repeated tests to ensure a fair comparison of the different tests. Nine different car seat types were used at sled impact velocities of 8 and 11 km/h. The mean sled decelerations were settled at a level of 2.5 g. The comparison of the statistics with the measurements showed a fair correlation between both approaches. So a "ranking" of the different seats regarding their risk of a neck injury during rear end impacts could be defined, and the biggest problems in seat construction could be summarized. (A)
Samenvatting