Abstract
In 1998, 78 pedestrians were killed on Victorian Roads. These deaths make up 20% of the 1998 road toll for Victoria of 391. It is necessary to assess these collisions for impact speed.
The aim of the research was to determine the relationship between impact speed and the location of an adult pedestrian or cyclists head strike on a passenger car, when the victim is struck by the front of the car and is upright when struck.
31 pedestrian crashes resulting in 32 victims were studied. The results of some crash tests were also looked at. For each real life collision, impact speed was assessed by tyre mark evidence on the road left by the car and or throw distance of the pedestrian from impact to rest. The location of the head strike on the cars involved was documented for each crash and was categorised as being either on various portions of the bonnet or the windscreen. Correlation was drawn between head strike location and impact speed.
The research showed that there is unlikely to be any head strike of the pedestrian or cyclist to the windscreen below an impact speed of 50 km/h. Impact speeds of between 50 to 60 km/h resulted in head strikes to the lower section of the windscreen. At speeds of 70 to 80 km/h the head strikes were to the mid section of the windscreen. At around 100 km/h upwards the head strikes were into the top section or roof line of the car. During the research it was also found that severing type injuries occurred to pedestrians when the impact speeds were upwards of 100 km/h and fatal injuries were occurring from 50 km/h upwards.