Importance of Forces and Safety Features in Car Crash Multitrauma
Importance of Forces and Safety Features in Car Crash Multitrauma
The pupose of the study is a prospective evaluation of external and internal factors/causes
 of importance for the trauma and final outcome experienced by persons inside motor vehicles
 in serious car accidents. We hypothesise that there is an association between the use and
 function of safety features and the results for the patient and an association between
 material damage and the severity of injury.
We plan to study approximately 200 road accidents with multitraumatised patients and
 accidents with modern cars and severe material damage with little or moderate damage to
 persons inside the vehicle. A researcher will be alerted by the call centre (Norwegian
 911-equivalent), move to the place of accident and take a pure observers role (unless
 ethically unacceptable due to lack of other health personnel). He will document the accident
 including use and condition of safety features, conditions inside the coupe, weather
 conditions, etc. Other available information on the vehicles, crashtests etc will be gathered
 from the manufacturer. All medical information will be gathered from the ambulance service,
 hospitals, pathology and forensic departments. Information from police and fire department
 will also be gathered.

 Patient, next-of-kin, others invloved will be interviewed as appropriate in follow-up.

 Four accident groups: Front-to-front or -object > 60 km/hour, same < 60 km/hour, car rolled
 over on road, car rolled over out-of-road. Factors: Age of vehicle, damage to coupe, cause of
 accident, on-scene time, initial evaluation by health personnel, injury severity scoring in
 hospital.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  patients with multiple trauma from severe motor vehicle accidents in Eastern Norway
 patients from motor vehicle accidents in Eastern Norway with severe material damage