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Low-speed collisions between tractor-semitrailers and passenger vehicles may result in large areas of visible damage to the passenger vehicle, but often produce limited damage to the tractor-semitrailer. Despite this, such accidents may lead to assertions of serious injury to the tractor driver and/or sleeper compartment occupant. Research regarding the impact environment and resulting injury potential of the occupants during these types of impacts is limited. This research investigated driver and sleeper compartment occupant responses to relatively low-speed and low-acceleration impact events. Five crash tests involving impact between a tractor-semitrailer and a passenger car were conducted. The test vehicles were a van semitrailer pulled by a tractor and three identical mid-sized sedans. The occupants of the tractor included a human driver and an un-instrumented Hybrid III 50th-percentile-male anthropomorphic test device (ATD).

Seatback strength and injury potential in moderate to high-speed rear-end collisions were investigated in a series of 12 HYGE sled tests. The test methodology included the use of instrumented Hybrid-III anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs). Four tests employed a 95th percentile male ATD ballasted to a total weight of 300 lbs and subjected to approximate 15 mph Delta-V impacts. The remaining tests employed an unmodified 50th percentile male ATD with impacts of approximately 25 mph Delta-V, and three ATD positions, including two "out of position" postures corresponding to leaning forward ("forward" position), and leaning forward and inboard ("radio" position). Seats from three different vehicles were tested, representing a range of strength values. Upper neck values for N were less than 1.0 in all cases. Lower neck N values sometimes exceeded 1.0 with the 50th percentile male ATD out of position, and these values did not trend with seatback strength.

The potential for injury to the acromioclavicular (AC) and coracoclavicluar (CC) ligaments as potential sequelae of rear-end collisions is examined. In the current study, rear-end impact data from four crash tests were analyzed to quantify and bound forces applied to the shoulder of the Hybrid III 50th percentile male occupant seated in the target vehicle. Two potential scenarios for AC and CC ligament loading were examined: 1) relative motion between the clavicle and shoulder due to belt loading on the shoulder and torso, and 2) compression of the humerus into the glenoid fossa due to locked arms on the steering wheel. Assumptions were made for the shoulder load calculations to obtain a conservative upper bound of loads that could be applied to the AC and CC ligaments. With the target vehicle at rest, the bullet vehicle speeds were 5, 10, 15, and 20 mph, yielding target vehicle changes in velocity (delta-V) of 3.9, 6.5, 8.9 and 12.2 mph.