title: Vehicle interior interactions and kinematics of rear facing child restraints in frontal crashes.
abstract: The performance of rear facing child restraints in frontal crashes can be determined by controlling a) the child's kinematics and b) interactions with vehicle structures. Twelve sled tests were performed to analyze the effect of the location and structural properties of vehicle interior components. The role of restraint kinematics was studied by developing computational models which underwent idealized motions. Stiff structures originally offset from the restraint, but which contact the restraint late in the test, cause increased injury values. Attachment methods which reduce child restraint rotation and more rigidly couple the restraint to the vehicle result in the best safety performance.
authors.affiliation: Center for Applied Biomechanics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Sherwood
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gopalan
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abdelilah
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Crandall
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D001336:Automobiles; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D015370:Infant Equipment; D014481:United States; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control