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This is a field study of cars that sustained very little passenger compartment intrusion in frontal crashes. It has been possible to define the key limits on seat belt effectiveness in these, the most common type of crash. Data are taken from the in-depth investigations by the Co-operative Crash Injury Study and Rover Group in the U.K. Vehicle crashworthiness is assessed in detail and then matched with medical information from coroners reports, hospital records or questionnaires sent to survivors. The study describes and compares important injury mechanisms such as driver head to steering wheel contacts, front passenger torso injuries caused by seat belt loads and front occupant leg injuries. 14% of occupants were rated two or above on the Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale. It is realistic to design seat belt systems for use in passenger compartments that can be expected not to deform in the more common frontal crashes.

Lower limb injuries which might be assessed for current or proposed barrier tests were described for belted drivers in frontal impacts. Injury and impairment were rated using the Abbreviated Injury scale and the Injury Impairment scale. Both emphasised the importance of fracture, especially to the ankle/foot region. AIS ≥ 2 and IIS ≥ 1 injury rates were high with small driver side (right side) overlaps but a high rate was also found for wide overlap impacts with driver side load concentration. Passenger shell intrusion was frequently associated with injuries of AIS ≥ 2 and IIS ≥ 1. Injuries of this type occasionally occurred with low intrusion and at low impact speeds and will be important in view of the frequency of those types of crashes in the tow-away population.

The evolution of in-depth research studies in Europe is reviewed, with particular emphasis on work in Britain since the early 1960's. The catalytic role of the NATO-CCMS programme in establishing in-depth teams in a number of countries and in developing common methodologies, notably in crash and injury severity, is outlined. The methodology of in-depth studies currently being conducted at the Accident Research Units at Birmingham University and at the Institute for Consumer Ergonomics at Loughborough is outlined and some observations are made on data collection techniques, analysis and project management.

A major study is currently underway in Britain, funded jointly by the Department of Transport, Ford, and BL Technology, to investigate the causes of injury to occupants in car accidents. The Accident Research Units at the Institute for Consumer Ergonomics, Loughborough, and a Birmingham University each have a team of researchers who, together with the Department of Transport Traffic Area teams, investigate approximately 700 accidents each year. The data are collected in a uniform manner by all investigators, and the data bases are compatible. The accidents are strictly sampled from a predominately urban (Birmingham) and a rural (Loughborough) catchment area. High-quality data are collected on the performance of the vehicles in crashes by detailed investigations after the accident; occupant injury details are provided by hospital consultants and coroners, sometimes by the occupants; sources of injury are assigned by the ARU teams.

Some of the factors influencing the introduction of mandatory seatbelt use in Great Britain are outlined. The effectiveness of seatbelts is considered. Pre- and postlaw seatbelt use rates are described. The reductions in frontseat car occupant casualties following the introduction of the law are reported, and it is noted the actual reduction in fatalities is in line with the expected reduction. The results of the time series analyses of all road accident casualties are presented. These analyses indicate, with the data currently available, the changes in the numbers of other road users injured and killed cannot be attributed to the effects of the seatbelt legislation but are in line with normal seasonal and annual fluctuations. A brief review is made of studies relevant to the debate on risk compensation, and it is concluded that available evidence indicates that risk compensation probably does not occur when drivers are compelled to wear seatbelts.

A brief review of pedestrian injury research in Europe is made. The circumstances of pedestrian accidents are described and particular attention is given to the location of the pedestrian's initial contact with the vehicle exterior and to the speed of the vehicle at impact. The dynamics of pedestrian impact are described. Some data on the pattern of pedestrian injury is presented and the general cause of pedestrian injury considered. The influence of bumper height, bonnet height, bumper lead and front structure compliance on pelvic and leg injuries is considered. The influence of vehicle design on vehicle contact head injuries is examined. Consideration is given to the likely benefits to pedestrians that could accrue from changes in vehicle exterior design.

The relative importance of pedestrian accidents as a source of road accident trauma is shown by reference to national and international data. The methodology of pedestrian accident investigation at Birmingham University is presented and the results of a recent study used to describe the general characteristics of pedestrian accidents. The pattern of injury sustained by pedestrians struck by the fronts of cars is described and the nature, cause and severity of leg injuries and head injuries considered in detail. The implications of bumper location are discussed. The importance of the windscreen frame as a source of serious head trauma is demonstrated.

This paper describes an analysis of a sample of over 300 fatally injured occupants of cars involved in accidents mainly between 1969 and 1976 in urban, rural and motorway environments of the United Kingdom. The sample is drawn from a retrospective field study of collisions conducted by examining cars at garages, and correlating that information with medical and road user data obtained from hospitals and by questionnaires. The sample is thought to be broadly representative of the U.K. occupant fatality situation. The injuries to all the fatally injured occupants are described in detail using the A.I.S. and the I.S.S. procedures. These injuries are then related to their most common sources, for specific crash configurations. The vehicle deformation is described in terms of the frequency and severity of various collision types, and then both injuries and deformation are reviewed in the light of existing and proposed safety legislation in Europe.

This paper describes the results of a three year field study into the crash performance of three basic designs of steering assembly, fitted to British cars. These systems have evolved to comply with current European and United States safety standards. While one design, involving a large-area, self-aligning steering wheel mounted on a conventional column, appeared from the field data to be highly effective in preventing serious chest and abdominal injury, the two systems utilizing axial-collapse steering columns proved to be essentially ineffective in practice. This finding is based on a field accident sample of 108 cases, so sampled as to be representative of the severe end of the collision speed and injury spectra. A test program was undertaken to examine the procedures currently used to evaluate steering assemblies. It was found that tests carried out in compliance with FMVSS 203 failed to differentiate between the safe and unsafe systems described above.

This paper outlines the characteristics of rollover accidents based on a representative sample of British cars and light vans. The data come from on-the-spot and follow up investigations of accidents conducted by Birmingham University and the Ford Motor Company in which damaged vehicles were examined and information from them correlated with injury data obtained from hospitals. Rollovers are either initiated by impact with another vehicle or are simple rolls, the incidence of other types of roll being low. Door opening rates are shown to be high, and the character of roof collapse, in terms of position and amount, is described. The sources of injury to occupants is discussed. Injury to the head or face occurred in 96% of injured occupants. Seat belts, when worn, prevent ejection but cannot offer complete immunity from injury in this type of accident. Some improvements in crash performance are outlined and a tentative testing procedure is mentioned.

Data are presented from two field studies on the collision injuries which result from contact with tempered glass and 0.030 in. (0.76 mm) high penetration resistant (HPR) laminated glass windshields. Two sets of similar automobile collisions are analyzed. The first set consists of European and Japanese cars imported into the United States (in Southern California). The second set is drawn from a study of British cars involved in collisions in England, all of which had tempered windshields. The frequency and severity of injury from the windshield are given for each set of collisions. Comparisons are made on the basis of vehicle damage and equivalent impact speeds. Examples of the mechanisms of injury for the two types of glass are outlined. The data presented indicate that tempered windshields give rise to a higher incidence of injury and more severe injuries than the 0.030 in. HPR laminated windshields under similar impact conditions. These differences are statistically significant.

This paper discusses some aspects of accidents in which pedestrians, cyclists and motorcycle riders are involved. The data for this study come from a larger at-the-scene investigation of road accidents which has been underway in the central part of Britain since 1965. The study was so designed that the sample of accidents would be representative as far as possible of the national situation in terms of such factors as urban to rural ratio, time of day distribution and injury severities. Pedestrian accidents are shown to be essentially an urban problem, with marked differences between adults and children both in collision circumstances and consequent injuries. Cyclists involved in accidents are mainly male teenagers, and are the least severely injured of the road users considered. Motorcyclists show different accident characteristics according to the environment of the collision.