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It has been widely reported that injury to the leg is the most common form of non-fatal trauma associated with motorcycle accidents. Furthermore, it has also been reported that the majority of motorcycle leg injuries resemble those experienced by pedestrians in that they do not involve crush. Rather, these injuries appear to involve only a direct impact between the leg and an opposing rigid object. Often the soft tissue of the limb is injured from the inside out in that sharp bone fragments and jagged ends lacerate the soft tissue as relative motion occurs. The complexity of understanding these results is due to a combination of impact effects, biological material properties and human geometric considerations. Our ongoing research, underway for several years, is providing the fundamental data for cadaver leg and bone impact response.

Basilar skull fractures have previously been described as the result of cranial vault impacts. Such fractures resulting from impacts to the chin, face and/or orbital areas (non-cranial vault areas) have not been adequately documented. These types of fractures and the motor vehicle incidents in which the injuries were sustained will be described according to the type of crash and vehicles involved. Data on the tolerance levels of the basilar region of the skull are sparce at best. Case histories of non-cranial vault impacts, presented in a variety of crash types, document that facial impacts can be the sole cause of basilar skull fractures. A historical review of the basilar skull fracture literature is presented.

The results of recent dynamic load measurements on human skull and patella bone, conducted with less-than-1-sq-in. penetrators, are discussed in relation to previously reported skull impact data from larger contact areas. These medical data are compared to the dynamic response of a large variety of natural and synthetic plastic materials, for use in trauma-indicating headform and kneeform design. Several bodyform designs are proposed as research tools.