This paper is the first part of a study on trends in lesion typology of highway traffic users. Two accidentology investigations at ten year intervals, each lasting two years, are taking place in Nimes, a middle town situated in South West of France and well known for its corridas.
The first phase occurred between 1981 and 1983 making it possible to achieve a lesion typology characteristic of highway traffic users, a priori defined. It concerned pedestrians, cyclists and drivers or passengers of mopeds, motor bikes, light vehicles vans and lorries.
Ten years later, in 1993, the second investigation phase was started and will be completed end 1994, using the same operating conditions and the same reception centre as in the first investigation, namely the Nimes Emergency Service (SAMU). The compilation comprises a tie on label of the injured person, his detailed lesion evaluation and the accident circumstances.
The objective is to evaluate the trend of specific lesions linked to each user type, from the comparative study of the two investigations. In other words, it is a question of verifying if there has or has not been a development in the type and severity of lesions received by highway traffic users. This can also provide evaluation elements of the efforts made in recent years to improve both the active and passive safety of users as well as the general traffic conditions.
The second objective is to evaluate the relative risks associated with each user category as a function of theusual lesion severity criteria in accidentology. A.I.S. is an International classification of traumatic lesions which gives a severity or death risk score to each lesion. Recently, another score has been associated with it, namely the I.I.S. (Injury Impairment Scale) which defines a handicap risk scale. We will discuss the advantages and limitations of these scales for a more precise definition of the seriously injured, in the second part.