NHTSA Examines Thoracic Injuries Among Older Vehicle Occupants
March 24, 2009, 8:16 am
A new NHTSA study examines the relationsip between age and incidence of thoracic injuries in different types of motor vehicle crashes.
As the U.S. population ages, there is a growing need for vehicle safety to suit older occupants. The fragility associated with the aging provess is though to reduce tolerance to crash forces, making this group more vulnerable to injury in a crash.
The study shows that in the age group, 75+, there was a higher percentage of moderate or more severe thoracic injuries when driving or riding in any passenger veicle type compared to those in age groups 25-44, 45-64, and 65-74.
The analysis showed results by occupant seating position. People 75+ had a higher incidence of thoracic injuries than other age groups in the same seating position. Furthermore, people 75+ had an exceptionally higher incidence of injuries when riding in the rear seat: an estimated 18.7 percent, compared to drivers and front-seat pasengers of the same age group.
Both age groups 65-74, and 75+ had higher bony structure injuries as indicated by and estimate of 79 percent and 23 percent of the occupants sustaining rib cage and sternal fractures. Lung contusions and laceratins were sustained by an estimated 20 percent of occupants 75+.
The steering wheel was the most common source of injury among young and middle-age occupants, while the seat belt was reported as the source of thoracic injuries amonc occupatns 75+. To download the report, go to www.nhtsa.gov.
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