ABSTRACT
From a review of current literature, it would appear that, a. a significant transfer of energy occurs in low speed rear impact collisions [LoSRICs], b. the kinematics of these accidents is quite complex and probably explains the unique risk to this form of trauma, c. a large portion of persons injured in LoSRICs continue to suffer from residuals of those injuries, d. the prevalence of chronic symptoms of these injuries in the U.S. has been estimated at 1–12%, e. the threshold for injury has not yet been adequately investigated to allow reasonable conclusions to be made about the universe of persons at risk of injury from LoSRIC-particularly considering the multitude of other complicating variabas, such as second collisions, disparity in sizes of involved vehicles, etc. Therefore, the threshold for injury at the current time remains largely unknown, and there does not appear to be any scientifically or empirically sound basis for reliably gauging injury potential from vehicle property damage or other aspects of the crash, such as the speed of the involved vehicles. [Article copies available from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: getinfo@haworth.com]
