For well over a decade, intensive automotive accident investigations, particularly in North America and Europe, have yielded substantial information on the "Crash" and "Post-Crash" phases of accidents. Similarly, data on "Vehicle" and "Environmental" factors have been concurrently gathered and analysed. Significantly less information has been gathered and even fewer analytical conclusions reached concerning the much more difficult factor of "Human" input, particularly in the "Pre-Crash" phase of accidents.

A survey of the frequency and severity of single-vehicle accidents, in which the phrase..."the vehicle went out of control"... appears far too often, is indicative of the need to examine the Pre-Crash, accident-avoidence phase in a more intensive manner than has hitherto been the norm. The seduction of overly plush seats, high-wattage stereos, the almost complete automation of driving controls coupled with the near absence of road-sense feedback, the distraction of digitized instrumentation and the advent of driver operated computers all add to the diversion of the drivers attention from his primary responsibility, the safe control of the vehicle.

This paper presents a procedure, inspired in part by the almost universally accepted AIS procedure for injury coding, for collecting and evaluating data pertinent to this increasing problem. Considerable effort is made to incorporate quantitative evaluation of the human and environmental factors involved, both in and outside of the vehicle. A structured normalized coding system is proposed called Crash Avoidance Profile, Subjective (CAPS).