The Effect of Vehicle Rotation on the Occupants' Delta V

The speed change, Delta V, and the PDOF, principal direction of force, on a vehicle in an accident can be taken together to form a useful measure of accident severity. Many studies have correlated the combined effect of these with the statistical probability of an injury of a certain type and severity according to the AIS (abbreviated injury scale). The usefulness of this concept is enhanced by considering the effective Delta V and PDOF at occupant locations in a vehicle by taking into account the effect of the vehicle rotation. The method of calculating the Delta V at the occupant location is presented in this paper.