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Motor-Vehicle Crashes and Occupant Protection
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Motor-Vehicle Crashes and Occupant Protection

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 16282

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kathleen D. Klinich

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Transportation Research Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Interests: occupant protection; child passenger safety; crash data analysis
Dr. Byoung-Keon Park

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Transportation Research Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Interests: statistical human anatomy modeling; integrated passenger safety systems; vehicle occupant behavior modeling
Dr. Lauren Wood Zaseck

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Transportation Research Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Interests: occupant protection; impact/injury biomechanics; finite element human modeling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

During the past 50 years, advances in occupant protection have contributed to substantial reductions in fatalities and injuries resulting from motor-vehicle crashes. In nations that have prioritized the development of vehicle safety standards and promoted seatbelt and child restraint use, the fatality rate has been cut by more than 50%. However, motor-vehicle crashes continue to be a leading cause of death and disability for people under the age of 55 worldwide. While innovations in new crash avoidance technologies can reduce the number of crashes and their severity, the need for occupant protection will remain. We invite you to submit papers detailing your research in occupant protection in motor-vehicle crashes in areas that will be particularly relevant in the coming decade for a Special Issue on the subject. Topics of interest include analysis of crash data to identify emerging priorities, development of innovative hardware components, factors unique to automated vehicles, innovations in human occupant modeling, results from biomechanical testing, and strategies for addressing the needs of vulnerable populations.

Dr. Kathleen D. Klinich
Dr. Byoung-Keon Park
Dr. Lauren Wood Zaseck
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • modeling
  • crash data analysis
  • biomechanical testing
  • hardware development
  • automated vehicles
  • occupant protection
  • vulnerable population safety
  • vehicle occupant dynamics
  • driver status monitoring

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 6761 KiB  
Article
Exploring European Heavy Goods Vehicle Crashes Using a Three-Level Analysis of Crash Data
by Ron Schindler, Michael Jänsch, András Bálint and Heiko Johannsen
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(2), 663; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020663 - 07 Jan 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2062
Abstract
Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are involved in 4.5% of police-reported road crashes in Europe and 14.2% of fatal road crashes. Active and passive safety systems can help to prevent crashes or mitigate the consequences but need detailed scenarios based on analysis of region-specific [...] Read more.
Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are involved in 4.5% of police-reported road crashes in Europe and 14.2% of fatal road crashes. Active and passive safety systems can help to prevent crashes or mitigate the consequences but need detailed scenarios based on analysis of region-specific data to be designed effectively; however, a sufficiently detailed overview focusing on long-haul trucks is not available for Europe. The aim of this paper is to give a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of crashes in the European Union that involve HGVs weighing 16 tons or more (16 t+). The identification of the most critical scenarios and their characteristics is based on a three-level analysis, as follows. Crash statistics based on data from the Community Database on Accidents on the Roads in Europe (CARE) provide a general overview of crashes involving HGVs. These results are complemented by a more detailed characterization of crashes involving 16 t+ trucks based on national road crash data from Italy, Spain, and Sweden. This analysis is further refined by a detailed study of crashes involving 16 t+ trucks in the German In-Depth Accident Study (GIDAS), including a crash causation analysis. The results show that most European HGV crashes occur in clear weather, during daylight, on dry roads, outside city limits, and on nonhighway roads. Three main scenarios for 16 t+ trucks are characterized in-depth: rear-end crashes in which the truck is the striking partner, conflicts during right turn maneuvers of the truck with a cyclist riding alongside, and pedestrians crossing the road in front of the truck. Among truck-related crash causes, information admission failures (e.g., distraction) were the main crash causation factor in 72% of cases in the rear-end striking scenario while information access problems (e.g., blind spots) were present for 72% of cases in the cyclist scenario and 75% of cases in the pedestrian scenario. The three levels of data analysis used in this paper give a deeper understanding of European HGV crashes, in terms of the most common crash characteristics on EU level and very detailed descriptions of both kinematic parameters and crash causation factors for the above scenarios. The results thereby provide both a global overview and sufficient depth of analysis of the most relevant cases and aid safety system development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Motor-Vehicle Crashes and Occupant Protection)
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12 pages, 2953 KiB  
Article
Rearward-Facing Infant Child Restraint Systems with Support Legs in Frontal and Frontal-Oblique Impacts
by Declan A. Patton, Aditya N. Belwadi, Jalaj Maheshwari and Kristy B. Arbogast
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(20), 10799; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010799 - 14 Oct 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1446
Abstract
Previous studies of support legs in rearward-facing infant CRS models have focused on frontal impacts and have found that the presence of a support leg is associated with a reduction in head injury metrics. However, real-world crashes often involve an oblique principal direction [...] Read more.
Previous studies of support legs in rearward-facing infant CRS models have focused on frontal impacts and have found that the presence of a support leg is associated with a reduction in head injury metrics. However, real-world crashes often involve an oblique principal direction of force. The current study used sled tests to evaluate the effectiveness of support legs in rearward-facing infant CRS models for frontal and frontal-oblique impacts with and without a simulated front row seatback. Frontal and frontal-oblique impact sled tests were conducted using the simulated Consumer Reports test method with and without the blocker plate, which was developed to represent a front row seatback. The Q1.5 anthropomorphic test device (ATD) was seated in rearward-facing infant CRS models, which were tested with and without support legs. The presence of a support leg was associated with significant reductions of head injury metrics below injury tolerance limits for all tests, which supports the findings of previous studies. The presence of a support leg was also associated with significant reductions of peak neck tensile force. The presence of the blocker plate resulted in greater head injury metrics compared to tests without the blocker plate, but the result was non-significant. However, the fidelity of the interaction between the CRS and blocker plate as an adequate representation of the interaction that would occur in a real vehicle is not well understood. The findings from the current study continue to support the benefit of support legs in managing the energy of impact for a child in a rearward-facing CRS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Motor-Vehicle Crashes and Occupant Protection)
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11 pages, 2085 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Nighttime Rental Restrictions on E-Scooter Injuries at a Large Urban Tertiary Care Center
by Bjorn Anderson, Jonathan D. Rupp, Tim P. Moran, Lauren A. Hudak and Daniel T. Wu
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(19), 10281; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910281 - 29 Sep 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1830
Abstract
Safety policy for e-scooters in the United States tends to vary by municipality, and the effects of safety interventions have not been well studied. We reviewed medical records at a large, urban tertiary care and trauma center in Atlanta, Georgia with the goal [...] Read more.
Safety policy for e-scooters in the United States tends to vary by municipality, and the effects of safety interventions have not been well studied. We reviewed medical records at a large, urban tertiary care and trauma center in Atlanta, Georgia with the goal of identifying trends in e-scooter injury and the effects of Atlanta’s nighttime ban on e-scooter rentals on injuries treated in the emergency department (ED). Records from all ED visits occurring between June 2018 through August 2020 were reviewed. To account for ambiguity in medical records, confidence levels of either “certain” or “possible” were assigned using a set of predefined criteria to categorize patient injuries as being associated with an e-scooter. A total of 380 patients categorized as having certain e-scooter related injuries were identified. The average age of these patients was 31 years old, 65% were male, 41% had head injuries, 20% of injuries were associated with the built environment, and approximately 20% were admitted to the hospital. Approximately 19% of patients with injuries associated with e-scooters noted to be clinically intoxicated or have a serum ethanol level exceeding 80 mg/dL. The implementation of a nighttime rental ban on e-scooter rentals reduced the proportion of patients with e-scooter injuries with times of arrival during the hours of the ban from 32% to 22%, however this effect was not significant (p = 0.16). More research is needed to understand how e-scooter use patterns are affected by the nighttime rental ban. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Motor-Vehicle Crashes and Occupant Protection)
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Review

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19 pages, 5653 KiB  
Review
A Literature Review of Wheelchair Transportation Safety Relevant to Automated Vehicles
by Kathleen D. Klinich, Miriam A. Manary, Nichole R. Orton, Kyle J. Boyle and Jingwen Hu
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(3), 1633; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031633 - 31 Jan 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4135
Abstract
This literature review summarizes wheelchair transportation safety, focusing on areas pertinent to designing automated vehicles (AVs) so they can accommodate people who remain seated in their wheelchairs for travel. In these situations, it is necessary to secure the wheelchair to the vehicle and [...] Read more.
This literature review summarizes wheelchair transportation safety, focusing on areas pertinent to designing automated vehicles (AVs) so they can accommodate people who remain seated in their wheelchairs for travel. In these situations, it is necessary to secure the wheelchair to the vehicle and provide occupant protection with a Wheelchair Tiedown and Occupant Restraint System (WTORS). For this population to use AVs, a WTORS must be crashworthy for use in smaller vehicles, able to be used independently, and adaptable for a wide range of wheelchair types. Currently available WTORS do not have these characteristics, but a universal docking interface geometry and prototype automatic seatbelt donning systems have been developed. In the absence of government regulations that address this situation, RESNA and ISO have developed voluntary industry standards to define design and performance criteria to achieve occupant protection levels for wheelchair-seated passengers that are similar to those provided by conventional vehicle seats. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Motor-Vehicle Crashes and Occupant Protection)
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12 pages, 706 KiB  
Review
Evidence for the Crash Avoidance Effectiveness of Intelligent and Connected Vehicle Technologies
by Hong Tan, Fuquan Zhao, Han Hao and Zongwei Liu
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(17), 9228; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18179228 - 01 Sep 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2535
Abstract
The Intelligent and Connected Vehicle (ICV) is regarded as a high-tech solution to reducing road traffic crashes in many countries across the world. However, it is not clear how effective these technologies are in avoiding crashes. This study sets out to summarize the [...] Read more.
The Intelligent and Connected Vehicle (ICV) is regarded as a high-tech solution to reducing road traffic crashes in many countries across the world. However, it is not clear how effective these technologies are in avoiding crashes. This study sets out to summarize the evidence for the crash avoidance effectiveness of technologies equipped on ICVs. In this study, three common methods for safety benefit evaluation were identified: Field operation test (FOT), safety impact methodology (SIM), and statistical analysis methodology (SAM). The advantages and disadvantages of the three methods are compared. In addition, evidence for the crash avoidance effectiveness of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication Systems (V2V) are presented in the paper. More specifically, target crash scenarios and the effectiveness of technologies including FCW/AEB, ACC, LDW/LDP, BSD, IMA, and LTA are different. Overall, based on evidence from the literature, technologies on ICVs could significantly reduce the number of crashes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Motor-Vehicle Crashes and Occupant Protection)
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16 pages, 1024 KiB  
Review
Keeping Safe on Australian Roads: Overview of Key Determinants of Risky Driving, Passenger Injury, and Fatalities for Indigenous Populations
by Kristen Pammer, Melissa Freire, Cassandra Gauld and Nathan Towney
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(5), 2446; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052446 - 02 Mar 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3293
Abstract
Social and cultural barriers associated with inequitable access to driver licensing and associated road safety education, as well as socioeconomic issues that preclude ongoing vehicle maintenance and registration, result in unsafe in-car behaviours such as passenger overcrowding. This in turn is associated with [...] Read more.
Social and cultural barriers associated with inequitable access to driver licensing and associated road safety education, as well as socioeconomic issues that preclude ongoing vehicle maintenance and registration, result in unsafe in-car behaviours such as passenger overcrowding. This in turn is associated with improper seatbelt usage, noncompliance with child restraint mandates, and driver distraction. For example, in Australia, where seatbelt use is mandatory, Indigenous road users are three times less likely to wear seatbelts than non-Indigenous road users. This is associated with a disproportionately high fatality rate for Indigenous drivers and passengers; 21% of Indigenous motor-vehicle occupants killed on Australian roads were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of impact. In addition, inequitable access to driver licensing instruction due to financial and cultural barriers results in Indigenous learner drivers having limited access to qualified mentors and instructors. A consequent lack of road safety instruction results in a normalising of risky driving behaviours, perpetuated through successive generations of drivers. Moreover, culturally biased driver instruction manuals, which are contextualised within an English written-language learning framework, fail to accommodate the learning needs of Indigenous peoples who may encounter difficulties with English literacy. This results in difficulty understanding the fundamental road rules, which in turn makes it difficult for young drivers to develop and sustain safe in-car behaviours. This paper considers the literature regarding road safety for Indigenous road users and critically evaluates strategies and policies that have been advanced to protect Indigenous drivers. Novel solutions to increasing road safety rule compliance are proposed, particularly in relation to passenger safety, which are uniquely embedded within Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing. Safe driving practices have crucial health and social implications for Indigenous communities by allowing more Indigenous people to participate in work and education opportunities, access healthcare, maintain cultural commitments, and engage with families and friends, qualities which are essential for ongoing health and wellbeing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Motor-Vehicle Crashes and Occupant Protection)
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