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Head Injury Risk Assessment and Prevention in Automobile Accidents

Richard Ziernicki, Ph.D., P.E. | Olof Jacobson, MS, P.E. | Jubal Hamernik, Ph.D.

This paper discusses testing methods, Federal Regulations and injury protection technology currently being developed regarding head injury in automobile accidents.

The head is the most frequently injured body region for restrained and unrestrained vehicle occupants.

The authors explore statistical relationships to quantify: distribution of HIC vs. skull fracture or brain injury; risk of life-threatening brain injury as a function of 15 and 36 millisecond HIC; the relationship between concussion, skull fracture and Delta “V”; probability of injwy and fatality of drivers in frontal collisions, as well
as dummy response trends for vehicle occupants.

Published By

Proceedings of the 29th International Symposium on Automotive Technology and Automation (ISATA), June 1996
1996