Injury Mechanisms in Head-On Collisions Involving Glance-Off

The damage pattern of about 30% of accident vehicles with injured occupants corresponds to that created in offset head-on collisions. An accident reconstruction method using the vehicles' deformation energies as operands is introduced for this collision type. The parameters so determined are compared for accidents both with and without glance-off, and their effect on the different injury mechanisms of the belted driver is discussed. A theory is suggested regarding the cause of serious injuries to the lower extremities in glance-off accidents, and is supported by examples. To confirm the results crash tests involving glance-off are carried out.