Centre for Automotive Safety Research reports

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Browsing Centre for Automotive Safety Research reports by Author "Anderson, Robert William Gerard"

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    Development and testing of production prototypes of a protective headband for car occupants
    (Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2002) Ponte, Giulio; Anderson, Robert William Gerard; McLean, Jack; Streeter, Luke Daniel; Tiller, Robert; Hill, Steve; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
    This report details the results of tests made on a headband designed to protect car occupants in a crash. The tests were performed in a manner such that the headband’s effectiveness could be compared with the requirements of the United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 201. That standard requires a certain level of head protection for the occupants of the vehicle from the upper interior of the car. The standard stipulates that a free motion headform be fired against the interior components of the car at a speed of up to 24 km/h. The requirement is that a modified value of the Head Injury Criterion, HIC(d), be less than 1000. In these tests a free motion headform was launched at a beam that simulated a structure of a car’s interior. The stiffness of the beam was varied, and the headform was fired, first, without any protection, and second, with prototype headbands made of either 70 g/l EPP or 50 g/l EPP. By comparing the impacts in these configurations we found that the headband absorbed significant amounts of energy, reduced peak loads and kept the impact within acceptably safe limits as measured by the Head Injury Criterion. This study showed that the headband similar to that tested would offer significant head protection in frontal impacts. This could offer safety advantages to occupants of older vehicles who otherwise would not benefit from recent advances in occupant protection and also to occupants of more recent vehicles who might be seeking supplementary safety devices.
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    Performance of bull bars in pedestrian impact tests
    (Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2006) Anderson, Robert William Gerard; van den Berg, Andrew Leo; Ponte, Giulio; Streeter, Luke Daniel; McLean, Jack; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
    Thirteen bull bars and the five models of vehicle were tested to measure their performance in pedestrian impact tests. Three tests were used in the assessment: two tests using an impactor representing the upper leg of an adult pedestrian, and a test with an impactor representing the head of a child. The headform impact and one of the upper legform impacts were with the top rail of the bull bar, and the second upper legform impact was with the bumper section of the bull bar. Equivalent locations on the vehicle that the bull bars were attached to were also tested. The tests were conducted at 30 km/h. Two rating systems were developed to summarise the results. The first rates the performance of the bull bars and the fronts of the vehicles according to the New Car Assessment Program consumer rating system used in Europe and Australia. The second system rates the performance of the bull bars relative to the front of the vehicle to which they are attached. Overall, steel bull bars are significantly more hazardous for a pedestrian in the event of a collision than the front of the vehicle, as are the aluminium/alloy bull bars, but to a lesser extent than the steel bull bars. Overall, the polymer bull bars slightly improve the safety of the front of the vehicle.. This study demonstrates the practicability of reporting the performance of bull bars in pedestrian impact tests. The system developed herein could form the basis of a consumer-oriented bull bar testing program.
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    South Australian primary schools bicycle helmet usage survey
    (Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2004) Thomas, H.; Somers, Ronald Lawrence; Anderson, Robert William Gerard; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
    This was a school-based survey that was conducted to assess bicycle helmet compliance rates amongst South Australian primary school students riding to school. 32% of South Australian primary schools chose to participate in the survey. The total number of students surveyed in the participating schools accounted for approximately 42% of all primary school children. It was estimated that 4% of primary school children ride their bicycle to school. Of the students riding a bicycle to school, 92% wore a helmet. The highest rate of helmet-compliance was reported in Catholic and independent primary schools (100%). Geographically, the lowest rate was reported in the metropolitan Adelaide region (89%).
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    A survey of drivers' child restraint choice and knowledge in South Australia
    (Centre for Automotive Safety Research, The University of Adelaide, 2006) Edwards, Sally-Anne; Anderson, Robert William Gerard; Hutchinson, Paul; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
    This study investigated the frequency of child restraint choices in a sample consisting of 357 drivers in the Adelaide metropolitan area, who were transporting to school 586 children aged up to 10 years. The main survey result was that the rate of appropriate restraint was between 64% and 72% on such trips, (according to weight criteria in the Australian and New Zealand Standard on child restraints for motor vehicles). Only 1% are completely unrestrained. Most of those who were not restrained appropriately had prematurely progressed to an adult seatbelt. Appropriate child restraint use is lowest for children in the age range 5 - <7. Inappropriate restraint choice is strongly related to the child’s age, their seating location (children seated in the rear being more likely to be restrained appropriately), and possibly the child’s entry into primary school. Female drivers were more likely than male drivers to know what restraints were suitable for children in their carriage. However, it did not appear to be the case than good knowledge of child restraints is predictive of appropriate restraint use. Barriers to booster seat use included the child’s attitudes to using a booster seat. This effect may be lessened if the child’s age were able to used to guide restraint selection, as peer cues (for child and parent) would be more consistent. Drivers almost never mentioned cost as a barrier to child restraint use. Encouraging parents to become better informed may also help, but recommendations should be reviewed. Further developemnt of the Australian and New Zealand Standard for child restraints may enable age to be used as a criterion, thus simplifying advice to parents.
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    Trends in traffic casualties in South Australia, 1981-2003
    (Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2004) Hutchinson, Paul; Anderson, Robert William Gerard; McLean, Jack; Kloeden, Craig Norman; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
    There has been a reduction in traffic fatalities in South Australia between 1981 and 2003, but this has not been accompanied by a fall in the total number of traffic casualties, and even the number of fatalities has declined very little since about 1992. This report throws light on these and related observations. The main data source is TARS, the database of crashes reported to the police; in addition, some use is made of statistics of death registration and of casualties hospitalised. Among the findings are the following. (a) Although the number of fatalities has not fallen much since about 1992, this has been a result of a continued decline in fatality rate and an increase in vehicle kilometres. (b) The increase in total casualties over the period 1992-2000 was largely confined to the minor categories of injury. (c) An increase in minor rear-end crashes was part of this, but not all of it. (d) In the metropolitan area of Adelaide, hospital-admitted casualties have been falling faster than fatalities over the period 1981-2003. (The evidence is less clear for country areas.) (e) There are numerous other features of the data that are not fully understood. In some cases, a more elaborate tabulation of subcategory numbers might resolve the issue, but in other cases, it is difficult to imagine doing so with mass accident data.
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    Using crash information to improve the treatment of crash injuries
    (Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2005) Versteegh, Sean; Anderson, Robert William Gerard; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
    This report examines whether there is evidence for the proposition that knowledge of the nature of a road crash aids in the treatment of injuries that arise from the crash. We reviewed published reports in which the utility of crash reports for triage was examined. We also reviewed the evidence in relation to chronic injury and whiplash injury in particular. There is some evidence that crash reports and information about the crash can assist in triage decisions and, in one study, steering wheel deformation was a good predictor of abdominal injury (which is hard to diagnose in some cases). There was very little direct evidence in relation to the treatment of chronic injury, but indirect evidence suggests that crash parameters that can be established, such as the change in velocity, are a poor predictor of chronic complaints. Any perceived benefit of crash reports in the treatment of chronic symptoms may arise as a result of their use in counselling the patient.
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    Whiplash associated disorders: a comprehensive review
    (Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2006) Anderson, Robert William Gerard; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
    This report is a compendium of papers on aspects of whiplash associated disorders (WAD). The aim of the report is to provide an overview of WAD from different perspectives: epidemiological, engineering, biomechanical, biopsychosocial, and treatment. Two recent studies on WAD in South Australia are also reported. The findings from studies published up until August 2005 are included in this report. Whiplash associated disorders are a complex phenomenon, triggered by a mechanical event but whose prognosis is affected by many factors including clinical and psychosocial factors. A thorough understanding of these factors provides a basis for dealing with the prevalence of WAD in the community and reducing the incidence of WAD.