Mathematical modelling of pedestrian crashes: Review of pedestrian models and parameter study of the influence of the contour of the vehicle

Road crashes result in a substantial number of pedestrian fatalities and injuries worldwide. Statistics from 35 European countries have shown that pedestrian fatalities represented on average 25% of road users killed throughout Europe (ECMT, 2003). In Japan, pedestrian fatalities accounted for 28% of the road toll (ECMT, 2003), while in Australia approximately 16% of road fatalities were pedestrians (ATSB, 2003). Pedestrian fatalities as a proportion of road fatalities were estimated at 13% in the USA to as high as 40-50% of the annual road toll in India and Thailand (Mohan and Tiwari, 2000). The most common cause of such fatalities is head injuries sustained by the pedestrian. Other severe injuries sustained in such impacts are injuries to the chest, spine and abdomen and the lower extremities (Anderson and McLean, 2001, Fildes et al., 2004). Computer simulations for studying methods of reducing the loading to the pedestrian in a crash is a powerful tool especially considering the great cost associated with mechanical optimization of designs. Numerous pedestrian computer models are described in the literature. These models vary in complexity, published validation and availability. For the study of overall human kinematics in a crash, computer models based on rigid bodies connected to each other by joints provide a powerful tool.