Investigation of the performance of safety systems for protection of the elderly

This study investigates injury occurrence for belted occupants as a function of age. An analysis of NASS/CDS 1997-2003 data was conducted to determine crash involvement rates and injury rates for front seat occupants versus mean occupant age. In frontal and near-side crashes, the average age of MAIS...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual proceedings - Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine 2005, Vol.49, p.361-369
Main Authors: Augenstein, J, Digges, K, Bahouth, G, Dalmotas, D, Perdeck, E, Stratton, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidents, Traffic
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging Driver
Databases as Topic
Humans
Middle Aged
Seat Belts
United States - epidemiology
Wounds and Injuries - epidemiology
Wounds and Injuries - physiopathology
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Summary:This study investigates injury occurrence for belted occupants as a function of age. An analysis of NASS/CDS 1997-2003 data was conducted to determine crash involvement rates and injury rates for front seat occupants versus mean occupant age. In frontal and near-side crashes, the average age of MAIS 3+ belted front seat occupants injured in crashes less severe than 15 mph is of the order of 50 years. The average age of the population exposed to crashes less severe than 15 mph is under 40 years old. The crash exposure and frequency if injuries to the elderly were both found to be the highest in low severity crashes. The chest is the most frequent body region injured for the elderly. These findings suggest the need for more benign safety systems to protect the elderly in low severity crashes. Design of safety systems for the elderly should give priority to reducing the chest loading in low severity frontal and near-side crashes.
ISSN:1540-0360