Falling headform tests, which are used to simulate impacts of a helmeted head in a motorcycle accident, take no account of the rider's body. In order to investigate the influence of the body mass on the dynamics of the head, drop tests using a complete helmeted Hybrid III dummy were carried out under various impact conditions. The comparison to equivalent falling headform tests showed that the linear and rotational accelerations of the head depend on the dynamic effects of the body and on the mechanical properties of the neck. For oblique impacts onto an abrasive anvil, the body of the dummy caused increased linear and rotational accelerations of the head. In case of impacts onto a flat anvil, the results systematically depended on the body impact angle. Due to an increased effective mass of the head, lower linear accelerations were found for dummy drop tests. This work was part of the European COST 327 research action "Motorcycle Safety Helmets". (A)
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