-The purpose of this paper is to report on an observed pattern of liver lacerations suffered by drivers wearing shoulder belts without the lap belt fastened, and to assess the ability of existing crash test dummies to measure the potential for these injuries. During the initial years of the study, 48 cases of drivers met the study criteria. Fifty percent of these drivers suffered liver lacerations. Twenty-two of the crashes involved damage to the right front of the vehicles. Among the drivers in these vehicles, 92% sustained injuries to the liver. This observation indicated that 2-point belts were most likely to produce liver injuries in low severity frontal collisions when the crash direction is 1 to 2 o'clock. An analysis of the National Accident Sampling System (NASS) for the years 1988-1995 indicated that liver injuries constitute about 0.5% of the injuries suffered by drivers who are in tow-away crashes. NASS data showed that the risk of chest injury is more likely among drivers with automatic shoulder belts than drivers with 3-point manual belts. The crash test dummies showed no difference in chest injury measures. Finite element (FE) computer modelling demonstrated that the high deflection of the right lower rib on the Hybrid III dummy predicts the liver injuries in the 1 o'clock crashes. These higher deflections were less apparent at the location of the centre chest deflection measurement device on the Hybrid III.
Samenvatting