As a result of this work, Dr. Rupp has developed new guidelines for use inestablishing injury criteria for future crash test programs. His findings areof particular interest when considering the USA Federal Regulation (FMVSS 208)that requires passenger vehicles to meet certification requirements withunbelted occupants. The risk of KTH injury is increased drastically when frontseat occupants fail to wear their safety belts, as much of the energy thatwould be managed through the lap belt must then be absorbed through crushingof the instrument panel by the knees.

The body region most likely to sustain clinically significant injuries infrontal motor vehicle crashes is the lower extremities. Of these -- injuriesto the knee, thigh, and hip (KTH) are the most frequent, representing 23percent of the life-years lost to injury in those crashes. To help addressthese injuries, the NHTSA announced in July 2008 that the New Car AssessmentProgram (NCAP) that is best known for its "5-Star Crash Protection Ratings"would begin assessing the potential for these injuries as part of itsevaluation process beginning with 2010 model year passenger vehicles. Femurforces measured from a belted occupant in a frontal crash test will be one ofits four primary injury measures when determining frontal crash safetyratings.

"UMTRI is collaborating with vehicle restraint system engineers inevaluating the potential of inflatable knee bolsters to mitigate the risk ofKTH injury in crashes," said Dr. Rupp. "The UMTRI research provides newcriteria that will be used in future design guidelines for knee bolsters, sothey can help control occupant deceleration without producing knee impactforces that exceed acceptable risk values."

"This is an important first step in mitigating the growing prevalence ofKTH injuries on our nation's highways," said Doug Stein, crash test managerand technical specialist with Autoliv North America, and one of Dr. Rupp'steam of experts involved with the project. "As the company that manufacturedthe first knee airbags more than ten years ago, we're proud to work alongsideDr. Rupp in addressing this next frontier of automotive occupant safety."

SOURCE Autoliv North America