Crash Characteristics and Injury Patterns of Restrained Front Seat Occupants in Far-side Impacts

Abstract

The findings are as follows: head and thorax are the more frequently injured body regions, and the prevalence of cranium injuries is similar at both injury severities; thoracic injuries are more prevalent at the MAIS 3+ level; the presence of another front seat occupant plays a role in MAIS 3+ trauma; injuries continue to occur at changes in velocity representative of side impact environments; and mean demographic factors are close to mid-size automotive anthropometry, indicating the need to pursue this line of study. Because data were gathered from only 4 years, it would be important to include additional NASS-CDS database years, rescore injuries from previous years, and analyze other international databases to reinforce these findings for advancing safety for far-side occupants.