At a crash scene, EMS providers must not only determine the severity of injury and initiate medical management, but also identify the most appropriate transport destination facility through a process called “field triage.” Proper decision making has a very significant impact on the outcome of injured subjects. Step III of the Field Triage Decision Scheme addresses mechanisms of injury and previ...

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the crash characteristics, injury distribution, and injury mechanisms for Maximum Abbreviated Injury Score (MAIS) 2+ injured belted, near-side occupants in airbag-equipped modern vehicles. Furthermore, differences in injury distribution for senior occupants compared to non-senior occupants was investigated, as well as whether the near-side occupant inju...

Seating systems are designed for occupant comfort as well as for affording occupant protection in various crash modes. FMVSS No. 207 specifies seat performance criteria, of which, one requires that a seat back withstand a minimum of 373 Nm moment measured about the seating reference point. The sufficiency of this requirement has been a source of significant debate. Some researchers believe that...

Vehicle occupants are exposed to low frequency vibrations with possible harmful effects such as mild discomfort, lower back pain, and even injury to the spine. Occupational drivers and operators of heavy machinery are exposed to significantly longer duration and higher levels of vibration. Thus, the modeling and prediction of biodynamic response of seated occupants to such vibrations is very im...

BACKGROUND Proper classification of child occupant restraint use is dependent on the age of the child occupant. Observations of vehicle restraint use involve estimating child age. If estimates of age are incorrect, then a potential for misclassification of restraint use exists. OBJECTIVE To compare estimated and confirmed child occupant age and calculate the impact of errors in age estimates ...

Lighter weight military vehicles facilitate faster transport, higher mobility, fuel conservation, and a reduced ground footprint of supporting forces. At the same time the design of ground combat vehicles to survive a blast from a mine or from any other explosive threats is of great interest in order to provide an appropriate level of protection for the vehicle and its occupants. Weight reducti...