Main description:

The aim of this book is to present pedestrian injuries from a biomechanical perspective. We aim to give a detailed treatment of the physics of pedestrian impact, as well as a review of the accident databases and the relevant injury criteria used to assess pedestrian injuries. A further focus will be the effects on injury outcome of (1) pedestrian/vehicle position and velocity at impact and (2) the influence of vehicle design on injury outcome. Most of the content of this book has been published by these and other authors in various journals, but this book will provide a comprehensive treatment of the biomechanics of pedestrian impacts for the first time. It will therefore be of value to new and established researchers alike.

Contents:

Foreword; Acknowledgements; About the Authors; Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: Pedestrian and Cyclist Injuries: Introduction; Global View of Pedestrian and Cyclist Fatality and Injury Rates; Main Pedestrian and Cyclist Injury Database Sources; Distribution of Pedestrian Injuries; Distribution of Cyclist Injuries; Injury Risk as a Function of Age and Sex; The Distribution of Vehicle Impact Speeds; Injuries from Vehicle and from Ground Contact; Injury Risk as a Function of Vehicle Size and Type; Injuries and Disabilities; Pedestrian Injury Trends over Time; Concluding Remarks;Chapter 3: Pedestrian and Cyclist Impact Kinematics: Introduction; Sources for Studying Pedestrian and Cyclist Movement; Classification of Pedestrian and Cyclist Impact Configurations; Pedestrian Sideswipe Collisions; Wrap Projection; Pedestrian/Cyclist Head Contact in Wrap Projections; Forward Projection; Post Head Impact Kinematics for Forward and Wrap Projection Cases; Concluding Remarks; Chapter 4: The Relationship between Vehicle Impact Speed and Pedestrian and Cyclist Projection Distance: Introduction; Stages of Pedestrian and Cyclist Projection; Post Impact Separation from the Vehicle; Effective Coefficient of Retardation in the Ground Contact; Accident Data; Staged Tests; Comparison between Accident Reconstructions and Staged Tests; Regression Models Relating Impact Speed to Pedestrian Projection; Distance; Physics Based Models Relating Impact Speed to Pedestrian; Projection Distance; Theoretical Considerations: The Particle Projection Model;Wrap Projection; Pedestrian Forward Projection; Confidence Limits for Vehicle Impact Speed Prediction; Other Models; Concluding Remarks; Chapter 5: Injury Mechanisms and Injury Criteria: Introduction; Head Injuries; Head Injury Criteria; Spinal Injuries; Thorax Injuries; Abdominal Injuries; Pelvis Injuries; Lower Extremity Injuries; The Long Bones: Femur, Tibia and Fibula; The Knee; The Ankle and Upper Extremities; Concluding Remarks; Chapter 6: Vehicle Design Standards for Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety: Introduction; Bodies Developing Pedestrian Safety Standards; Types of Test Proposed; Subsystem Tests: Legform Impactor to Bumper; Upper Legform to Bonnet Leading Edge; Headform to Bonnet Top: Adult and Child; lmplementation into Legislation; Concluding Remarks; Chapter 7: Mathematical Formulations for Impact Modelling: Introduction; Notation; Timing; Impulse and Momentum; Single Segment Formulation Using Momentum Considerations; Post Primary Impact Kinematics; Head Contact Time; Post Head Impact Kinematics; Pedestrian Formulation Using an Ordinary Differential Equation (ODE) Approach; Rigid Body ODE Approach with a Hinge Segment; Three-Dimensional Effects; Problems with a Rigid Body Approach; A Finite Element Approach to Pedestrian Impact; Concluding Remarks; Chapter 8: Models for Simulating Impact: Introduction; Pedestrian Physical Dummy Models; Mathematical Models; Multibody Models; Finite Element Models; Application of Finite Element Pedestrian and Cyclist Models; Concluding Remarks; Chapter 9: Ground Contact Injuries: Introduction; Relative Severity of Ground Versus Vehicle Impact; Variability of Ground Contact; Vehicle Impact Speed Effects; Influence of Vehicle Design; Possible Methods to Reduce Ground Contact Injuries; Concluding Remarks; Chapter 10: The Influence of Vehicle Design on Pedestrian and Cyclist Injuries: Introduction; Definitions; Influence of Vehicle Mass; Influence of Vehicle Stiffness; Influence of overall Vehicle Shape; Bumper Shape; Influence of Bumper Height on Whole-Body Kinematics; Secondary Bumper; Bumper Lead; Bumper Stiffness; Bullbars; Shape of Bonnet and Bonnet Leading Edge; Bonnet Leading Edge Stiffness; Head Impact on the BonnetIWindscreen; Evaluation of Production Vehicles via Proposed Pedestrian; Safety Regulations; Concluding Remarks; Chapter 11: Conclusions and Future Perspectives : Introduction; Epidemiology and In-Depth Crash Injury Studies; Kinematics ; Population