Atlanto-Occipital Fracture Dislocation in Lap-Belt Restrained Children

This paper discusses an attempt to relate measured loading at the head neck junction of arestrained six year old ATD during a frontal crash, to the mechanism of upper cervical fracture dislocation in young children. Lap belt, lap shoulder belt anda four point restraint system are considered. The basis for the reconstructions is the fatal injury to lap-belt restrained young children seated in the rear seat of contemporary minivans. The study concludes that simple forces and bending moments measured on such an ATD may not provide a sufficient basis for judging the likelihood of such an injury. Suggestions for a more comprehensive injury analysis are made.