In Japan, the number of automobile liability insurance payments in 2002 made to victims with permanent disabilities amounted to 58,380 or 1.56 times higher than a decade ago. Of these, 2,420 or 1.61 times higher than the previous decade were payments for those with severe permanent disabilities. With these statistical data, it is indispensable to consider the occurrence of permanent disabilities, the implementation of automobile safety measures and steps to be taken in the coming years.

The authors analyzed and reviewed the situations of traffic accident injuries resulting to permanent disabilities by examining 429,863 injured cases (persons) and the corresponding automobile liability insurance payments made since 1994 and thereafter. These cases were based from the Ministry of National Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s computer data recorded since 1994, and from the compiled database on the national traffic accident of the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis (ITARDA). This indicates that it takes at least 5 to 6 years for the fixation of permanent disabilities symptoms after the occurrence of each automobile accident. The number of victims with severe permanent disabilities (first to third grades) increased by 23 % (annual increase of 45 persons or so) in the 7-year period between 1992 to 1999, while the number of victims with minor permanent disabilities (12th to 14th grades) increased by 76 % in the same period (annual increase of 1,600 persons or so).

It is found that determining the effects of vehicle safety structures (crashworthiness), and occupant protection systems, are indispensable to the reduction of incidence of permanent disabilities, and to the development of such structures and systems.