The influence of head restraint and occupant factors on peak head neck kinematics in low-speed rear-end collisions

Prior two-way analyses of variance showed that the peak kinematic response of the head and neck of subjects exposed to low-speed rear-end collisions w as related to speed change and gender, however potential reasons for this g ender dependence were not determined. Using multiple linear regression, thi s study further examined these response data to determine the relative infl uence of specific factors, including subject anthropometry, neck strength, cervical range of motion, seated posture and head restraint position, which may have been responsible for the previously-observed gender dependence. T he results of this analysis showed that vehicle speed change and relative h ead restraint position explained the largest proportion of the observed var iation in peak occupant kinematic response. Seated posture measures also ex plained some of the variation in kinematic response. The current analysis p rioritizes which variables to explore more thoroughly in future research an d which variables should be carefully controlled in future studies. (C) 199 9 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.