An Investigation on the Head Injuries of Adult Pedestrians by Passenger Cars in China

Objective: To investigate the relative likelihood of pedestrian head injuries based on person, vehicular, and environmental factors in China. Methods: A team was established to collect passenger car–pedestrian accident cases occurring between 2006 and 2011 in Beijing, Shanxi Province, and Chongqing, China. Some key variables for person-, vehicle-, and environment-related factors on head injuries were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine relative risk/likelihood. Pedestrians were classified according to injury outcome and age. Pedestrian head injuries were scored using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS). Results: A total of 285 vehicle–pedestrian crashes were collected and analyzed: 30 in Beijing, 20 in Shanxi Province, and 235 in Chongqing. The distribution in age and road type by study location differed. The injury outcome, head injury severity, and head contact site were different among 4 age groups. The variables including head contact site and impact speed were the com...