A study was undertaken to assess the benefits in reduced societal Harm if manufacturers met the ECE frontal offset crash test at a 64km/h crash test speed, typically adopted in consumer tests. Using the same method as in a previous study, estimates of likely injury reductions from compliance with the 64km/h test were derived and then converted into likely annual Harm savings and Harm saved per vehicle. On the basis of evidence available, the total benefit likely to accrue if all cars complied with the 64km/h crash test would be somewhere between A$404 million and A$520 million annually assuming a 100% fleet compliance. The break-even cost per car across its lifetime would be on average somewhere between A$404 and A$651. The additional benefit above the mandated ADR 73/00 requirement would be of the order of an additional 24% to 36% Harm reduction in frontal crashes. No data were available on any likely disbenefit resulting from designing for the higher crash test and further research is warranted to confirm this. These savings are conservative, based on more recent injury costs published by the Bureau of Transport Economics, Canberra, Australia.
Keywords:
Crashworthiness; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Consumers; Frontal Impacts; Injuries (Harm).