Analysis of glass breakage in window accidents

In order to determine whether changes in glazing would affect the outcome of window accidents. over 8000 accidents reported in the Consumer Product Safety Commission's data bases were analyzed to find the patterns of human behaviour leading to glass breakage. Each pattern formed the basis for a simple biomechanical model to estimate the masses and velocities of human impacts with the glass. Two physical models of the effect of an impact on window glass were used to predict the probability of glass breakage in each pattern. Window parameters of glass size and thickness were varied to estimate the potential for protection by window design. It was concluded that in only two of the patterns (HIT and PUSH) was it possible to choose glass parameters which assured a high degree of protection for the victim. For whole body impacts (WALK and TRIP) extreme thicknesses of tempered glass would be needed to prevent breakage.