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Materials Today: Proceedings 44 (2021) 2859–2864

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Materials Today: Proceedings


journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matpr

Investigation into the work related hazard from impact force on


helmeted motor cyclist in Nigeria
Ayodele Samuel Onawumi a,b, O.O. Obasanya b, Oluwafolakemi Adebanke Odunola b,
Olayinka Oluwole Agboola a,⇑
a
Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria
b
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Risk exposure of motorcyclist could be overwhelming when riding especially without protective wears
Received 19 October 2020 on. Helmet which serves as protection to the most delicate part of the rider comes with different designs
Received in revised form 19 October 2020 and quality in the study area, This study considered two common types of helmet used by the study pop-
Accepted 29 December 2020
ulation with the aim of assessing impact force on the cyclist as well as characterize the same. The inves-
Available online 16 February 2021
tigation show that JC Yoli has performance metrics of percent risk, severity index and head acceleration
(<1, 73, 245) which guarantee safety of the user. The percent risk, severity of accident and head acceler-
Keywords:
ation significantly influence the impact force which can result head injury, spinal cord injury and death of
Impact force
Helmet
rider involve in an accident. This research also suggests the use of helmet that has protective face mask
Performance metrics that could prevent the spread of COVID 19 amongst the riders of business motorcyclist.
Head injury Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Motor cyclist Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Confer-
ence on Materials, Processing & Characterization. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction tion prevalent among larger population of business rider informed


the practice of ignorance and poor level of risk perception of
Transportation is not only an essential means of moving human motorcyclist [1].
and commodities from one place to the other it is also a major Helmets of varying design features imported from different
industry through which people sustain livelihood. The use of Motor countries of the world are available in the Nigerian markets many
cycle depends on important factors among which are size of goods, of these head gears comes with issues related to ergonomic fitness
road networks and distance of travel, legislation, safety needs, and to the anthropometric demands of the user population in Nigeria
economic reasons. In many developed countries motor cycle can- and as a result of lack proper consideration of critical risk factors
not be engaged in commercial services that involve moving mate- most expected users have formed counter opinion on the need
rials and men. In like manner there is strict ban on riding without for the use of helmet and other recommended protective wares
protective wares. Some of the required wares recommended for (Onawumi and Oyawale, 2016). The economic limitations of large
the cyclist are helmet, hand gloves, face mask, and goggle. Evi- population of the low income earners in Nigeria can only afford
dently the use of the mentioned wares do not come without pains, them to buy used motor cycle (both Nigerian of foreign used) also
stress and discomforts which are responsible for bad attitude both called okada for family or commercial use.
commuters and riders to usage of the safety wares. The recent Work related musculoskeletal disorder can be induced waring
occurrence of novel COVID 19 worldwide which suggest as part misfit protective gear due to the sensitivity of the nerves in the
of solution to the pandemic the use of face mask s faced with sim- head and neck. Using external stressor is inimical to productive
ilar challenge of poor attitude and weak enforcement of the safety activities of man. The designed two wheel for motor cycle and lack
rules [12]. The issue of low level of vocational and technical educa- of cubicle exposes the riders to hazards which place high demand
for rider’s vigilance level with all sense organs under stress/strain
for high performance and safety. This suggests the need for protec-
⇑ Corresponding author. tive wares when engaged in operating this complex two wheeled
E-mail addresses: onawumi.ayodele@lmu.edu.ng (A.S. Onawumi), agboola. automobile [1].
olayinka@lmu.edu.ng (O.O. Agboola).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.12.1169
2214-7853/Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Materials, Processing & Characterization.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Ayodele Samuel Onawumi, O.O. Obasanya, Oluwafolakemi Adebanke Odunola et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 44 (2021) 2859–2864

The informed attitude of motor cyclist on the use of variety of helmet is to provide head protection during collision or accident
protective gears is investigated in this work with the view of prof- and to provide thermal comfort of its users. Humidity and high
fering a sustainable suggestions the possibly will encourage the ambient temperature make the situation worse for the rider as
occupational cyclist to abide by safety instructions and practices trapped heat causes significant discomfort [5].
while engaging in their means of livelihood. The work identify level
of discomfort experience by business riders of motor cycle partic- 4. The structure of motor-cycle riders’ helmet
ularly with respect to the use of protective head gears.
The components of standard helmets being used by motor-
2. Working operation of motor-cycle helmet cyclist include the visor, or shield, outershell, comfort padding,
ventilation system, retention system or chin strap, and liner or
Modern cycle helmets typically have a micro-shell, usually foam [6]. However, the main helmet components nowadays are
between 0.3 and 0.8 mm thick; that is often bounded to the liner from the foam liner (EPS, polyurethane, polyolefin, polyethylene,
material during the manufacturing process. The micro – shell liner polymer blend, polyvinylidene chloride or integral skin) and the
provides little rigidity or load distribution, but may help to main- shell (thermoplastic or composite). In general, the function of the
tain helmet integrity in an impact; which may be particularly foam is to absorb most of the impact energy, while the function
important if a second impact occurs in the same accident. A hard of the shell is to resist penetration of any sharp object from touch-
shell is likely to distribute loading better in a localized loading con- ing the head and resulting in direct skull damage, and to distribute
dition, and would be expected to be better than a micro–shell in the impact load on wider foam area, thus increasing the foam
protecting against penetration of sharp objects [2]. In both hard– energy absorption capacity [7].
shell and micro–shell helmets, the liner will absorb a proportion
of the impact energy and will distribute the impact loading over 5. Materials and methods
a higher cross sectional area of the human head (especially, in
cases of impacts with relatively flat surface). Both of these features This work aim at investigating the experience of motor cycle
will reduce the danger of cranium fracture by reducing the local- riders and the level of discomfort with the use of protective head
ized strain on the head cranium and the risk of skull fracture and gear (helmet). Structured questionnaire was designed to capture
brain injury by minimizing the rectilinear acceleration of the head. information on personal data, experience on business riding of
The proportion of impact energy absorbed will depend on the motor cycle, and attitudinal issues among the riders. Sample size
design of the helmet, the impact test that the helmet has been of fifty (50) business riders were selected randomly in the study
designed to meet and the type of surface impacted [2]. In the pro- area for the identification of risk associated with use of helmet.
cess of absorbing a proportion of the energy of an impact, the Two common types of helmet in the study area were like wise
structure of the helmet is usually damaged. This is a necessary selected for theoretical and experimental determination of impact
property of helmets provided the liner material was elastic, the force on the sampled types of helmet.
energy of impact that was initially absorbed by the helmet would
be resulted later to the head during impact, thereby largely reduc- 6. Structured questionnaire administered on riders
ing the effectiveness of the padding. Liner materials are therefore
primary plastic in their deformation characteristics. By changing The respondents were motor-cyclists who have experienced
the material used as the liner, it is theoretically possible to tune accidents while wearing or not wearing either of the selected hel-
the head protection properties for a particular impact condition mets and those who have not experienced any accident on motor-
of interest [2]. However, the extent to which this is done by helmet cycles. Questions ranging from: personal data (age, sex, educa-
manufacturers also depends upon material availability and cost. tional background, etc.), years of experience as rider, number of
Helmet fit and retention are also considered to be important, years of consistent usage of helmet, suggested modifications to
because an improperly fitting helmet may not provide the improve on required level of comfort, accident rate on motor cycle,
designed impact absorption, and a helmet that is dislodge in an degree of fatality experience, causative agents, and speed limit
impact may not provide any protection at all [3]. In addition to usually observed.
these considerations, ventilation and aesthetics are considered
important to the comfort and user acceptability of helmets. Fur- 7. Determination of impact force of the motor cycle on collision
thermore, cycle helmets for use on the roadway are usually
designed to ensure that the vision and hearing of the rider are The mass, riding velocity, breaking distance and stopping dis-
not compromised. The most pragmatic helmet designs balance tance of motor-cycle involved in road accident were extracted from
the need for good impact performance in the event of a fall or col- the records of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Nigeria [8,9]. The
lision, with the need to be acceptable, practicable and comfortable riding velocity of the motor-cycle just before collision (U), is
when used [3]. expressed in meters per second. The values of U for both dry and
wet roads were collected.
3. Motorcyclist helmet Impact force F is transmitted to the entire body of the motor-
cycle and this is experienced by the motor-cyclist during impact.
Helmet is a major head gear used by cyclists. Its primary func- The work-done (W) by the motor-cycle rider can be expressed as
tion is to protect users for head injury due to accident or fall [4]. A mU 2
helmet provides safety to the extent that it is designed to provide. F¼ ðNewton; NÞ 1
2d
This are determined by the capability of the material used in the
design and production of the head gear. Although, for the maxi- The kinetic energy of a moving motor-cycle (E) expressed as
mum protection of the head, the retention system of the helmet kgm2/s2
must be securely fastened under the chin and be properly fit. Fail- 1
ure to have a proper fit and to securely fasten the helmet is danger- E¼ mU 2 ðRajput; 2011Þ 2
2
ous as the helmet could come off in an accident leaving the head
totally unprotected [7]. More importantly as design requirement
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Ayodele Samuel Onawumi, O.O. Obasanya, Oluwafolakemi Adebanke Odunola et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 44 (2021) 2859–2864

During impact, the kinetic energy is converted to work as helmeted head dropped at three heights (1 m, 1.5 m and 2 m) to
shown in 3.5 selected anvil.

1
Fd¼ mU 2 3 10. Results and discussions
2
The impact force on the head was determined by using 3 10.1. Questionnaire Administration.
2
mU
F¼ ðNewton; NÞ 4 The survey was carried out on fifty business motorcyclists dis-
2d
tributed randomly over the study area within a study period of
Where, m = mass of the motor-cycle rider, expressed in kilo- one year. The selection of respondents took cognizance of cyclist
gram Kg. age, eligibility by license and registration of the motorcycle used.
U = Velocity of the motor-cycle just before collision, expressed Table 1 summarize specific features of respondents in the business
in m/s. and use of helmet. The majority (84%) had<10 year experience in
E = Kinetic energy of a moving motor-cycle in Kgm2/s2 or Joule business riding this suggest unsustainability of the job as viable
(J). and safe means of livelihood.
d = Stopping Distance in meters m The level of compliance with the use of helmet was observed to
F = Impact Force in Newton N be discouraging with over 62% business cyclist failed to comply.
Consistent use of helmet for five years was identified with only
8. Theoretical determination of impact force on helmeted 40% respondents and about 60% cannot remember using helmet
dummy head for up to five years. Majority (74%) report that they are comfortable
using helmet as a form of protection of head. However 88% submit-
The impact force acting on the motor-cyclist covered with hel- ted that the cause of discomfort with the use of helmet is heat and
met during accident was calculated based on the geometry of the blockage of air. A number of suggestions on how to improve the
motor-cycle helmet structure and the data collected from FRSC,
using applied mechanics principles. Table 1
Survey Results of Administered Questionnaire.
9. Impact test on Helmet. Responses Type No. of % of total
Respondents Respondents
The impact test rig for standard helmets test shown in Fig. 1 Year of Job <10 years 42 84
was set up at Federal Institute of Research, Oshodi, Lagos and the Experience 10–19 years 8 16
results obtained from the test were compared with the maximum Compliance with Yes 21 28
acceleration impacted to the head form, whether or not it exceeds Helmet Usage No 24 62
certain threshold value. No Response 5 10
The two commonly used helmets (JC Yoli and Skyo Serpent) Experience with the <5 years 20 40
were considered for this test. The procedure involve the position- Use of Helmet 5–10 years 1 2
10–19 years – –
ing of the test sample on a metal head form and then dropped in
No Response 29 58
a guided fall on two different steel test anvils (flat, and hemispher-
Helmet and Comfort Yes 37 74
ical types). The head forms are instrumented with an accelerome-
No 2 4
ter to measure the impact force and acceleration with the No Response 10 22
Discomfort Heat over the head 44 88
and blockage of air
Blur Vision on Motion 5 10
No Response 1 2
Helmet modification Inner foam 19 38
and Design Weight 21 42
Tiny holes to reduce 8 16
heat
No Response 2 4
Accident Yes 38 76
No 8 16
No Response 4 8
Head Injury Yes 35 70
No 9 18
No Response 6 12
Cause of Accident Over – speeding and 34 68
over – taking
Diversionary 10 20
activities while on
motion
Others 6 12
Shield Yes 40 80
No 8 16
No Response 2 4
Speed Limits (km/hr) 50 6 12
60 7 14
70 12 24
Greater than 70 25 50
Fig. 1. Image of the Equipment Used in Standard Impact Tests.

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Ayodele Samuel Onawumi, O.O. Obasanya, Oluwafolakemi Adebanke Odunola et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 44 (2021) 2859–2864

Table 2
Variations of Speed, Mass, Distance and Impact Force on Dry Road.

Speed (m/s) Mass(kg) Reaction distance (m) Braking Distance (m) Stopping Distance(m) Impact Force (N)
11.11 75.00 11.00 9.00 20.00 420.80
13.89 77.00 14.00 14.00 28.00 530.56
16.67 84.00 17.00 20.00 37.00 686.55
22.22 65.00 22.00 35.00 57.00 729.37
27.78 55.00 28.00 55.00 83.00 757.95
33.33 85.00 33.00 79.00 113.00 1430.69

Table 3
Variations of Speed, Mass, Distance and Impact Force on Wet Road.

Speed (m/s) Mass (kg) Reaction distance (m) Braking Distance (m) Stopping Distance (m) ImpactForce (N)
11.11 82.00 11.00 18.00 29.00 460.07
13.89 92.00 14.00 28.00 41.00 633.92
16.67 78.00 17.00 40.00 56.00 637.51
22.22 58.00 22.00 71.00 93.00 650.82
27.78 73.00 28.00 82.00 110.00 1006.00
33.33 60.00 33.00 159.00 192.00 1009.90

Table 4
Motor-cycle Helmet Drop Test Results for JC Yoli.

Drop Height (m) Shell Rigid Surface Front Side


SI %Risk G SI %Risk G
1 Yes Flat 311 <1 89 707 1 172
1.5 Flat 503 2 110 870 5 173
2 Flat 854 6 144 1424 28 215
Rear Top
1 Yes Hemispherical 267 <1 81 245 <1 73
1.5 Hemispherical 501 1 112 548 2 112
2 Hemispherical 685 3 126 1211 17 201

comfortability of the helmet include design modification of the the impact force experienced by the motor-cyclist is high when
inner foam, weight, and ventilation system by 38%, 42% 16% of the speed moved by him is high and at a relatively high stopping
respondents. Over two-third (76%) experience varying level of acci- distance. The values stopping distance is high for wet road than
dents on the job with 70% identify head injury as consequence of for dry road, which means high impact forces are experienced by
the accident. Eighty percent of the riders do not have transparent motor-cyclists on dry road.
face mask on their helmet which exposed them to air born infec-
tions such as the novel corona virus (COVID 19) especially between 10.3. Statistical test of difference on impact Force.
the riders (motorcyclist and the passenger) Over-speeding and
wrong over-taking were observed as the causes of the accident Student t-test was used to compare the values of the impact
with more than two- third (74%) driving at 70 km/hr and above. force on dry and wet roads. From Table 2 and 3, the following were
obtained
10.2. Theoretical impact force Results. Null Hypothesis, H0 ; There is no difference between the values
of impact force on dry and wet roads.
The riding velocity of the motor-cycle (U), expressed in meters Alternative Hypothesis, H1; there is significant difference
per second are shown in first column of Table 2. The riding velocity between the impact forces on dry and wet roads.
(U) of the motor-cycle, stopping distance (d) by motor-cyclist and Significance levela = 0.05
mass (m) of motor-cyclist were used to obtain the magnitude of Student t – test (t) = 3.132 Critical value of t at 0.05 significant
the impact force as shown in Table 2 and Table 3. While in motion, level for (6 – 1 = 5) degrees of freedom is 2.015 Since
the velocity of the motor-cycle can be increased between the spec- jtobtained jjtcritical j > jtcritical j i.e j3:132j > j2:015j, then the null hypothesis
ified speed limits by the motor-cyclist as indicated in the that there is no difference in the values of impact force on dry and
speedometer of the motorcycle. It has been established from the wet roads is rejected. Hence there is significant difference in the
survey conducted that most motor-cyclists used above 70 km per values of impact force on dry and wet roads. It was found that val-
hour when riding on motor-cycle and this largely contributed to ues of p greater than 0.05 were considered statistically significant
the accident experienced by the motor-cyclist. When the velocity as impact force on dry road was higher than on wet road.
of the motor-cycle is increased, the distance (d) moved by
motor-cyclist before coming to rest is increased during impact 10.4. Impact test of helmeted dummy head
and the magnitude of the impact force is changed. The variations
in the impact force as a result of increasing speed of the motor- Table 4 presents the result of J C Yoli dropped from heights of
cycle, changes in mass and distance moved, using the FRSC data 1 m, 1.5 m, 2 m respectively on both the flat and hemispherical
collected are as shown in Table 2 and 3. The results showed that, shaped surfaces. The test was carried out with loaded dummy hel-
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Ayodele Samuel Onawumi, O.O. Obasanya, Oluwafolakemi Adebanke Odunola et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 44 (2021) 2859–2864

Table 5
Motor-cycle Helmet Drop Test Results for Skyo Serpent.

Drop Height (m) Shell Rigid Surface Front Side


SI %Risk G SI %Risk G
1 No Flat 566 1 140 677 1 166
1.5 Flat 928 7 170 1080 12 192
2 Flat 1516 38 212 2011 70 265
Rear Top
1 No Hemispherical 334 <1 92 321 <1 99
1.5 Hemispherical 686 3 136 661 3 133
2 Hemispherical 1137 15 178 1252 18 196

Table 6
Helmet Performance Profile.

Drop Height (m) % Risk Head Acceleration (G) Severity Index Profile
1 RJC  1 73  HAJC  172 JCtophem < JCrearhem < JCfrontflat < Skyotophem < Skyorearhem < Skyofrontlat < Skyosideflat < JCsideflat
RSkyo  1 92  HASkyo  166
1.5 1  RJC  5 110  HAJC  173 JCrearhem < JCfrontflat < Skyorearhem < JCtophem < Skyotophem < JCsideflat < Skyofrontflat < Skyosideflat
3  RSkyo  12 133  HASkyo  192
2 3  RJC  70 73  HAJC  172 JCrearhem < JCrearhem < JCtophem < Skyotophem < Skyorearhem < JCsideflat < Skyofrontflat < Skyosideflat
3  RSkyo  18 126  HASkyo  265

met having 0.05 m radius surface with impact on from, side, rear height with severity index and head acceleration at higher thresh-
and top surfaces. The severity index (SI), associated risk and head old limit. However, the available helmet can be improved upon to
acceleration (G) (245, <1, 73) of JC Yoli with top surface impacting accommodate the peculiar anthropometric characteristics riders’
from the 1 m height on the hemispherical rigid surface produced population in Nigeria. It suggested that necessary legislation be
the least profile among all the test results of sampled JC Yoli while put in place to control the importation of unsafe helmets in to
side surface dropped from 2 m height on flat rigid surface presents the country.
the highest profile (1424, 17, 215). The test results of Skyo Serpent
(Table 5) with the top surface dropped from 1 m height on hemi-
Declaration of Competing Interest
spherical rigid surface shows a relatively lower profile (321, <1,
99) while the side surface of the helmet dropped from 2 m height
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
on flat rigid surface presents a profile of (2011, 70, 265). It was
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
reported that lowering acceleration lowers severity index, which
to influence the work reported in this paper.
in turn lowers the risk of accident. Motor-cycle that better manage
impact energies result in lower head acceleration and thus a lower
severity index [6,10]. Considering Tables 4 and 5, It is observed that Acknowledgements
results of the performance when shell (inner foam padding) is
available in the helmet is considerably better than when it is not. Special appreciation goes to the industrial engineering research
Table 6 shows the performance profile of the test samples. The per- team of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, the manage-
cent risk at 1 m drop height for both types of helmet is less than 1 ment of Landmark University for creating the platform for the
percent risk on any of the test conditions and the head acceleration reseach publication and the pastgraduate research students who
not exceeding 172 m/s2. The performance metrics of JC Yoli at the did the enumeration. The management of the organisation whose
top hemispherical point presents the best result amongst for 1 m. data were used in this work were acknowledged.
1.5 m and 2 m test drop heights (<1, 73, 245), (2, 112, 548), (17,
201, 1211) respectively. This suggests that JC Yoli is better perfor- References
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Ayodele Samuel Onawumi, O.O. Obasanya, Oluwafolakemi Adebanke Odunola et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 44 (2021) 2859–2864

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