Head Accelerations in Out-of-Position Postures in Low Speed Rear Impacts: A Comparison between Volunteer Data and GATB Simulation

Non-neutral posture prior to impact is one of many factors thought to influence the onset and severity of whiplash associated disorders following low speed, rear impact collisions. The Graphical Articulated Total Body Model (GATB) is one simulation tool that has been used to investigate injury risk in rear impact collisions, though the model has not previously been validated for occupants in non-neutral postures. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of the GATB model during low speed rear impacts in out-of-position postures, by comparing simulations to previously published volunteer head accelerations. Twelve simulations (four occupants in each of three postures) were performed. Results demonstrated good agreement between the GATB simulations and the volunteer kinematics, with a mean error for peak head acceleration of 3.4 ± 13%. In addition, influence of out-of-position postures on the risk of whiplash injury for different sized occupants was investigated using the Neck Injury Criterion (NIC). While NIC values predicted by GATB did not approach tolerance levels for any sized occupant, including large males and small females, there were changes in different postures. Of the postures tested, NIC values were highest with the head flexed forward, possibly due to the increase in head-to-head restraint backset distance that resulted from this posture.