Some aspects of facial injuries in present day cars.

THIS PAPER PRESENTS THE RESULTS FROM A FIELD ACCIDENT STUDY OF FRONT SEAT OCCUPANTS IN FRONTAL CRASHES INVOLVING CURRENT MODEL CARS IN THE U.K. THE RESULTS FOCUS IN THE MAIN ON THE CONSEQUENCES FOR SERIOUSLY INJURED, UNRESTRAINED OCCUPANTS WHO HAVE STRUCK BUT NOT NECESSARILY BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED BY THE WINDSCREEN. VERY CAREFUL CASE SELECTION CRITERIA WERE APPLIED TO IDENTIFY SIMPLE, SINGLE HEAD CONTACTS WITH THE GLASS ALONE, OR IN THE CASE OF TOUGHENED WINDSCREENS, THE GLASS PLUS A CLEAN CONTACT BEYOND THE PLANE OF THE GLASS ARISING FROM THE FRACTURE OF THE GLASS. MULTIPLE AND DOUBTFUL CONTACTS WERE EXCLUDED. THIS PROCESS RESULTED IN 12 OCCUPANTS BEING SELECTED WHO STRUCK AS1 CATEGORY LAMINATES AND 57 WHO STRUCK TOUGHENED GLASS. THE RESULTS FROM THIS SAMPLE INDICATE THAT TOUGHENED GLASS IS MORE INJURIOUS THAN LAMINATED, THE MAIN TYPE OF INJURY ARISING FROM BOTH GLASSES BEING FACIAL LACERATIONS. A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE OF EYE INJURY CASES WAS THEN EXAMINED. A THIRD OF ALL EYE INJURIES CAME FROM THE WINDSCREEN AND 57 SUCH CASES WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE DATA FILE: ALL EXCEPT TWO OF THOSE CASES WERE CAUSED BY TOUGHENED GLASS. THE NATURE AND SOME OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF EYE INJURIES ARE OUTLINED AND DISCUSSED. (A) FOR THE COVERING ABSTRACT OF SECTION 5 SEE IRRD 266063. FOR THE COVERING ABSTRACT OF THE CONFERENCE SEE IRRD 266046.