BIOMECHANICAL INJURY EVALUATION OF LAMINATED GLASS DURING ROLLOVER CONDITIONS. IN: OCCUPANT AND VEHICLE RESPONSES IN ROLLOVERS

Abstract

Each year, on average, about 7,300 people are killed and about 7,800 people are seriously injured because of partial or complete ejection through glazing (the windows of a vehicle). Of the fatalities, more than 4,400 are associated with vehicle rollovers and the majority of these rollover victims were not using safety belts. In this chapter, from a comprehensive text about occupant and vehicle responses in rollovers, the authors report on a study conducted to determine the occupant retention and head-neck injury potential aspects of laminated glass in rollover accidents. The head injury and neck parameters used in the study were obtained from Hybrid III 50% male dummy test device impacting on various types of side windows with laminated glass. Results indicate that the glass contained the dummy assembly and the head-neck biomechanical parameters were below the critical value injury tolerance limits in simulated rollover accidents. The head injury criteria, peak angular acceleration, and neck bending moments were also well below the critical value limits. The authors conclude that head-neck injury in rollover accidents is unlikely due to laminated glass contact used in production vehicles.