Accident reports from the Maryland Automated Accident Reporting System show that, during the period 1980-1983 there has been a significant increase in the proportion of automobile collisions with injuries deemed "incapacitating" in the face of a relatively stable rate of fatal accidents.

This increase is primarily attributable to collisions involving "other motor vehicles in transport." Other categories of collisions, including those involving pedestrians or fixed objects, have not shown a similar increase. The fact that this increase in injury is attributable primarily to collisions involving another car, may reflect the trend toward smaller, more fuelefficient cars.