MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS – A NEW HEAD AND NECK SAFETY DEVICE FOR RIDERS |
Massimiliano Gobbi, Gianpiero Mastinu, Giorgio Previati |
Politecnico di Milano |
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ABSTRACT |
This paper is devoted to the design and first implementation of a new head and neck safety device (NHNS) for
race of motorcycles. The system aims to mitigate the effects of crash forces acting along almost every direction with respect
to the head. The system is composed by a helmet, linked to a jacket by means of a number of cables and a by a number of
stop surfaces to limit both the flexion and extension of the neck. Stop surfaces are provided also to limit the lateral leaning
of the head. Preliminary numerical simulations, performed by a simplified human model, and experimental tests, ran by using
a Hybrid III dummy, show that the NHNS has the potential to actually reduce the neck damage in some relevant crash
situations. The effect of the device is reducing the load acting on the passenger’s neck and maintaining the vertebrae rotations
within the physiological limits. |
Key Words:
Neck injury, Neck protection device, Race drivers, Motorcyclist, Injury prevention |
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