Comparison of potential injuries to the head and lower extremities of a motorcyclist during impact with W-beam and wire rope barriers using FE simulations

Because of their lack of protection, motorcyclists are at a higher risk of injury during a crash compared to car occupants and contribute significantly to the road trauma around the world. Roadside barriers are constructed to protect riders from crashes with off-road objects. Among the different types of roadside barriers, the most common is W-beam barriers, which are designed in consideration of the safety of car occupants. Wire rope barriers may be installed as an alternative and have been found to be safe for cars. However, no in-depth investigation of injuries sustained by motorcyclists crashing into these barriers has been reported. The present study aims to investigate and compare potential injuries to a motorcyclist's head and lower extremities during collisions with W-beam and wire rope barriers. To capture the effect of structural stiffness, detailed finite-element (FE) models of the rider (dummy), the motorcycle, and the barriers were used in simulations carried out in LS-Dyna (R), an explicit FE solver. The wire rope barrier was found to be capable of restraining the rider on the road in all cases. Although injuries to lower extremities increased in some cases, potentially fatal injuries to the rider's head were reduced by the wire rope barrier.