Investigation of impact factors in frontal collisions involving powered two-wheelers and cars

Authors

  • Yi Pang Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Selangor, Malaysia
  • Shaw Voon Wong Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Selangor, Malaysia
  • Yong Han School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, 361024 Xiamen, China
  • Zulhaidi Jawi Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research, 43000 Kajang, Malaysia
  • Yahaya Ahmad Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research, 43000 Kajang, Malaysia
  • Kean Sheng Tan National Defense University of Malaysia, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Azizan As'arry Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Selangor, Malaysia
  • Qiuyun Mo School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, 541004 Guilin, China
  • Tao Jiang School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, 541004 Guilin, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15282/ijame.23.1.2026.18.1016

Keywords:

Frontal collision accident, PTW, Head injury analysis, Accident reconstruction

Abstract

Powered two-wheelers (PTWs) are highly vulnerable in road traffic accidents, with frontal collisions with cars frequently resulting in severe or fatal rider head injuries. However, while most research has focused on vehicle collisions and head injuries, studies on the influencing factors of rider head injuries in collisions where the vehicle front impacts the powered two-wheeler remain relatively limited. This study employs an orthogonal experimental design to conduct a simulation analysis of frontal collisions between cars and PTWs (motorcycles and electric two-wheelers). It investigates the impact of multiple factors, including vehicle speed, collision angle, and vehicle type, on rider head injuries. By reconstructing typical traffic accidents and combining multi-body dynamics models with human dummy models, the study quantifies variations in the Head Injury Criterion (HIC15) and the 3-millisecond acceleration peak (3 ms Clip). Results from the range analysis indicate that vehicle speed is the primary factor influencing HIC15 (Range value of 835.29), while collision angle most significantly affects the 3 ms Clip (Range value of 70.60). The research reveals significant differences in rider head injuries under various collision conditions and quantifies vehicle speed as the dominant factor for severe head injuries (HIC15). Consequently, it is recommended that accident mitigation strategies prioritize speed-control measures to reduce rider mortality effectively.

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Published

2026-03-14

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 1 (2026): March

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 The Author(s)

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

[1]
Y. Pang, “Investigation of impact factors in frontal collisions involving powered two-wheelers and cars”, Int. J. Automot. Mech. Eng., vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 13393–13404, Mar. 2026, doi: 10.15282/ijame.23.1.2026.18.1016.