Driver head displacement during (automatic) vehicle braking tests with varying levels of distraction

Vehicle occupant behavior in emergency driving conditions has a large effect on traffic safety. Distraction is estimated to be the cause of 15-20% of all crashes. Additionally, the posture of the occupants prior to the possibly unavoidable crash is known to have a large effect on the injury reducing performance of the restraint system. In this study it is investigated whether braking settings as well as driver distraction influence the kinematic response of an occupant during braking events, in order to improve the design of crash avoidance or crash and injury mitigation systems