Abstract

Powered Two-Wheelers (PTWs) is the most dangerous mode of transport. Accidentological studies showed that the most deadly injuries to the accident victims were injuries to the chest and head. Among Personal Protective Equipment, some systems concern airbags fitted into the clothing worn by the motorcyclist which can inflate extremely quickly as soon as an accident occurs. Since a low percentage of motorcyclists wear airbag jacket, this kind of accident are very rare. This paper aims to present two accident reconstruction of motorcyclists wearing airbag jackets.

Specific investigations allow to collect data on PTW accidents which involved motorcyclists equipped with airbag jackets. For both accidents, the investigator contacted the victims by phone in order to have information on the accident like the PTW, the airbag jacket, the impact configuration, injuries, etc. When available, photos or/and videos were also asked to the victims.

Kinematic reconstructions were performed in order to evaluate the impact speed and a numerical multibody simulation of the accident was performed in order to evaluate the triggering of the airbag.

Accident n°1:

This case involved a Triumph 675 which has been impacted at its back by a car during a turning left configuration. The moto has been destabilized, the driver was ejected and felt on the ground. Then he slides during about 30m without hitting an obstacle. Injuries observed are fractures of ribs, pleura detachment, hematoma of the left leg.

The accident reconstruction allowed to estimate the impact speed. It has been determined that the airbag jacket was triggered 0.2 seconds after the impact and was inflated 300ms before the ground fall. The impact on the ground was evaluated at 63km/h on the back of the trunk.

Accident n°2:

This case concerned the rider of a BMW F800 which loss its control in a curve. This accident has been filmed by another motorcyclist who followed the BMW and had a GoPro camera on the front of his motorbike. After the loss of control at about 90km/h, the rider slide on the ground and impact a barrier at about 40km/h. The injuries observed on the trunk were a liver fracture and a sternum fracture. According to the multibody reconstruction, it is estimated that the airbag jacket has been triggered 0.4 seconds after the fall on the ground while the impact occurred 1.2s later. The liver injury can be attributed to the impact of the suitcase on the right lateral part of the trunk of the victim.

In conclusion, these accident reconstructions allow to demonstrate if the airbag jackets have been triggered before or after the first impact. In perspective, it should be interesting to extend this research with more accidents. The survey has also concerned mainly airbag jackets with a “cable” system and accidents cases with “radio” systems are missing.