Passenger cars and occupant injuries

This project was undertaken to evaluate the level of protection afforded occupants of current generation passenger cars available on the Australian market and to provide directions for future improvements in occupant protection. A literature review was initially undertaken to highlight reported vehicle occupant injuries and sources of injury as well as countermeasures which are presently under consideration overseas. A mass database was constructed of injury compensation data at the Transport Accident Commission in Victoria, supplemented with police and some make/model information, for detailed analysis. In addition, a program was undertaken of detailed inspections of 227 crashed vehicles where at least one occupant was hospitalised to provide details on sources of injury from current generation vehicles involved in road crashes. This first report describes the findings to date and makes recommendations on a range of suitable countermeasures to reduce the incidence and severity of injuries for front seat occupants involved in frontal crashes. A supplementary volume provides a case by case summary of each of the crashed vehicles inspected. Further reports are planned to provide recommendations for other seating positions and crash configurations when additional data becomes available (A).