Characterizing the distribution of injury and injury severity for belted front-seat occupants involved in frontal crashes

Abstract

Probability distribution curves at each AIS level within each body region were developed for front seat occupants in frontal crashes as a function of crash severity. Multivariate regression models used data on passenger vehicles 15 years old or newer with no rollover or fire as documented in USA NASS CDS 1998-2007. The 7268 subjects, representing 2.8 million occupants, had a 6% (95%CI 5-7) probability of sustaining MAIS2+ and 2% (95%CI 1-2) probability of sustaining MAIS3+ in at least one body region, demonstrating the limited risk of sustaining serious injuries for belted occupants in frontal crashes during the last decade. Models accounted for occupant's age, gender and height, vehicle's wheelbase, curb weight, age and model year, deployment of frontal airbags and specific direction of impact. The severity of crash resulted in statistically significant and positive relationships with the severity of injuries across all body regions but neck. Older occupant's age also resulted in statistically significant and positive relationships with more severe injuries in most body regions, particularly when evaluating MAIS3+.