Hearing loss and automobile airbag deployments.

In an on-going research program, on the causation of injuries in motor vehicle accidents, at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, crashes with airbags have been, and are continuing to be, investigated. In order to determine the occurrence, if any, of 'hearing problems' associated with airbag deployments, drivers and passengers who had been involved in 'airbag' automobile crashes were interviewed by telephone. From the crashes investigated, 225 attempts were made to contact drivers who were exposed to airbag deployments.

Air bags: an update.

Overwhelming evidence shows that air bags save lives and reduce morbidity associated with MVCs. The resulting benefits far outweigh the risks of air bag injury or death. Emergency nurses play a pivotal role in educating the public about active seat belt use in conjunction with passive restraint systems such as air bags.

The effects of seat belts on injury severity of front and rear seat occupants in the same frontal crash.

Data on passenger cars in frontal crashes were reviewed using NASS 1980-1991. Only crashes with one or more rear seat passengers were included. Combinations (pairs) were made based on restraint use: lap-shoulder belts in the front seat (or no belts worn) and lap belts, (or belts worn) in the rear seat.

Vertebral column injuries and lap-shoulder belts.

Objective: To present cases of vertebral column fractures or fracture dislocations that occur to restrained front seat occupants where there is no evidence of body contact with interior car components based on both medical records and car inspection.

Materials And Methods: Reviewed were car crash injury cases investigated at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute and at the University of Birmingham (England) as well as the National Accident Severity Study files of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Medical records and car inspections in the cases presented did not indicate any evidence of body contact with interior car structures.

Upper extremity injuries related to airbag deployments.

Objective: Details on airbag injuries to the upper extremity are relatively unknown to clinicians. The injuries presented here should provide a clear understanding of the mechanisms of forearm, hand, and wrist injuries that may be seen by emergency room physicians.

Materials And Methods: From our crash investigations of 325 airbag-equipped passenger cars, a subset of upper extremity injuries are presented that are related to airbag deployments.

A review of cervical fractures and fracture-dislocations without head impacts sustained by restrained occupants.

Crash injury reduction via lap-shoulder belt use has been well documented. Like any other interior car component, lap-shoulder belts may be related to injury in certain crashes. Relatively unknown is the fact that cervical fractures or fracture-dislocations to restrained front seat occupants occur where no head contact was evidenced by both medical records and car inspection.

Field investigations of the performance of air bag deployments in frontal collisions.

This paper documents field investigations of "air bag" crashes selected from a large group of air bag crashes in file at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). A full range of crashes are presented with injury levels of AIS 1-2 to AIS 5-6. Most occupants sustained minor injuries.

Air bag injuries and occupant protection.

Analysis of the investigations of crashes involving automobiles equipped with air bags verifies the estimations of the lifesaving and injury reduction benefits of this supplemental restraint system. Cases of air bag-associated injuries, primarily erythema, abrasions, and contusions of the lower face and anterior throat-upper chest, are identified as those most often observed. Corneal-scleral injuries were infrequently noted but are rarely found in crashes involving air bag deployments.

Some biases in the alcohol investigative process in traffic fatalities.

This study compares data regarding alcohol involvement from police records and from chemical analyses of body fluids taken prior to or after death of 121 traffic fatalities in Washtenaw County, Michigan. Differences regarding the choice of who will or will not be screened for alcohol were found. The police and emergency room personnel were more likely to focus on males and drivers, while medical examiners were less biased.

Seat belt effectiveness: case examples from real-world crash investigations.

Although it may be well known that the lap-shoulder belts are effective in reducing occupant injury in motor vehicle crashes, hardly ever have actual examples been presented in the medical literature. This paper presents case histories of selected severe crashes in which one or more of the occupants were lap-shoulder belted. Environmental and vehicular details, as well as injury descriptions, are presented along with comments.

Fatal injuries caused by underarm use of shoulder belts.

Safety belt use has dramatically increased in the past decade in North America because of safety belt use laws. Underarm use of shoulder belts is a means of relieving neck irritation and other complaints from shoulder belts but may result in serious or fatal injuries. Loads far in excess of the injury tolerance of the lower chest and upper abdomen are imposed by the shoulder belt in the underarm position.

Use of quadruped models in thoraco-abdominal biomechanics research.

Pigs and dogs have become common models of human thoraco-abdominal impact response. This paper summarizes a comparative analysis of the dog and pig to the live human accomplished through a series of necropsies performed on pigs and dogs. The results are summarized below.

Cervical spine biomechanics: a review of the literature.

This article reviews the many clinical and laboratory investigative research reports on the frequency, causes, and biomechanics of human cervical spine impact injuries and tolerances. Neck injury mechanisms have been hypothesized from clinically observed cervical spine injuries without laboratory verification. However, many of the laboratory experiments used static loading techniques of cervical spine segments.

Facial injuries in automobile crashes.

In automobile accidents, the facial area is the most frequently injured body region in passenger car occupants. Laboratory studies have indicated that the tolerance of facial bones to impact is relatively low. Most of these facial injuries are rated as minor.

Ocular injuries in automobile crashes.

Tempered windshields commonly used in Europe have been shown to be related to the relatively high incidence of ocular injuries. Although windshields of the High Penetration Resistant (HPR) type in cars in North America are not at all significantly involved in ocular injuries, still about 50 % of the injuries of the eye area are caused by glass. The HPR windshield probably is the main reason for the relatively low occurrence of ocular injuries in United States crashes compared to these injuries reported from countries with tempered windshields.

Cervical injuries suffered in automobile crashes.

The National Crash Severity Study data in which occupants sustained severe, critical-to-life, or fatal cervical injuries were reviewed. Of passenger cars damaged severely enough to be towed from the scene, it is estimated that one in 300 occupants sustained a neck injury of a severe nature. The neck-injury rate rose to one in 14 occupants for those ejected from their cars, although many of these injuries resulted from contacts within the car before or during the process of ejection.

Cervical fractures and fracture-dislocations sustained without head impact.

Because of its flexibility and structure, the cervical spine is disposed to various mechanisms of injury: although not so common as injuries caused by head impacts, cervical fractures and/or fracture-dislocations have been reported without direct impact to the head. Some cervical injuries reported have been sustained by wearers of lap and shoulder belts in auto accidents; however, we do not consider belt use a potential hazard because ample evidence has accrued in the medical and engineering literature to document general injury and fatality reduction by use of seatbelts. We believe that in many instances occupants would be more seriously injured or killed were belts not worn.

The hazard of the unrestrained occupant.

A review of 208 cases involving injuries sustained by vehicle occupants was extracted from the computer storage at the Highway Safety Research Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In addition, 157 new car crashes investigated by the authors were separately analyzed. Data analysis indicates injuries are sustained by direct occupant-to-occupant contact and by one occupant forcing another into or against one or more interior car structures.

Vertebral column injuries and seat belts.

It is obvious from the above that there are several independent mechanisms in the production of the various types of lumbar fractures. The details of these mechanisms must be fully understood in each case of lumbar vertebral injury. The cases reviewed in the present paper show that similar if not identical lumbar injuries can occur in car occupants wearing or not wearing lap belts at the time of the crash.