Publication

Rear impacts often cause soft tissue neck injuries, also referred to as whiplash injuries, which can lead to long term suffering. These injuries account for more than 60% of the costs of all injuries leading to permanent medical impairment for the insurance companies with respect to injuries sustained in vehicle crashes. Injury statistics have shown that females are subject to a higher risk of sustaining this type of injury than males and that recently developed anti-whiplash systems protect females less than males. In this study, simulations were run with both an average male and a recently developed average female dummy model seated in a vehicle seat. The three crash pulse severities of the Euro NCAP low severity rear impact test were applied. The motion of the neck, head and upper torso were analysed in addition to the accelerations and neck injury criterion, NIC. Simulations with the male and the female dummy models showed differences related to both the crash severity and between the two dummies in a particular crash severity. For all three pulses the NIC values were higher for the EvaRID dummy than for the BioRID. The results of the study highlight the need for an extended test matrix. The inclusion of an average female dummy model would provide seat developers with an additional tool to ensure good whiplash protection also for female occupants.