Serious or fatal driver injury rate versus car mass in head-on crashes between cars of similar mass

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Evans, Leonard¹; Wasielewski, Paul¹

Serious or fatal driver injury rate versus car mass in head-on crashes between cars of similar mass

Accid Anal Prev. April 1987;19(2):119-131

©1987 Pergamon Journals Ltd.

Affiliations

¹General Motors Research Laboratories, Warren, MI 48090, U.S.A.
Abstract

This work was performed to determine relations between car mass and driver injuries (serious or fatal) when cars of similar mass crash into each other head-on. This type of crash is examined because it is considered similar in some respects to a barrier crash. Data from the United States Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) are used to examine driver fatality likelihood as a function of car mass when cars of similar mass crash into each other. Pedestrian fatalities involving cars of the same mass are used to estimate exposure. Two additional sources of data (State data from North Carolina and New York) are used to generate information on the number of drivers seriously injured or killed per police reported crash when cars of similar mass crash into each other. The present study finds that the likelihood of driver injury (fatal or serious) when cars of similar mass crash into each other increases with decreasing car mass, both for head-on crashes and for crashes in all directions. The study does not address possible mechanisms that might lead to such relations. All the data analyzed reveal a fairly consistent picture—a driver in a 900 kg car crashing head-on into another 900 kg car is about 2.0 times as likely to be seriously injured or killed as is a driver of a 1800 kg car crashing head-on into another 1800 kg car.
Links

DOI: 10.1016/0001-4575(87)90031-5

PubMed: 3580089

WoS: A1987G855500006
History

Received: 1985-11-5

Revised: 1986-04-11
Cited Works (1)

Year Entry

1984 Evans L. Driver fatalities versus car mass using a new exposure approach. Accid Anal Prev. February 1984;16(1):19-36.

Cited By (22)

Year	Entry
1990	Evans L. Discussion of "The problem of compatibility in car-to-car collisions" by Thomas et al. In: 34th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 1-3, 1990; Scottsdale, AZ.269-273.
1990	Thomas C, Faverjon G, Henry C, Le Coz JY, Got C, Patel A. The problem of compatibility in car-to-car collisions. In: 34th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 1-3, 1990; Scottsdale, AZ.253-267.
1999	Thomas P, Frampton R. Large and small cars in real-world crashes: patterns of use, collision types and injury outcomes. In: 43rd Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). September 20-21, 1999; Barcelon, Spain.101-118.
1994	Evans L. Car size and safety: a review focused on identifying causative factors. In: Proceedings of the 14th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 23-26, 1994; Munich, Germany.721-733.
1996	Shearlaw A, Thomas P. Vehicle to vehicle compatibility in real world accidents. In: Proceedings of the 15th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 13-16, 1996; Melbourne, Australia.607-616.
1996	Hobbs CA, Williams DA, Coleman DJ. Compatibility of cars in frontal and side impact. In: Proceedings of the 15th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 13-16, 1996; Melbourne, Australia.617-624.
1996	Foret-Bruno J-Y, Thomas C, Morvan Y, Faverjon G, Le Coz J-Y, Tarrière C. Influence of car weights on driver injury severity and fatalities in head-on collisions. In: Proceedings of the 15th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 13-16, 1996; Melbourne, Australia.639-647.
1998	Jawad SAW. Compatibility study in frontal collisions: mass and stiffness ratio. In: Proceedings of the 16th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 31–June 4, 1998; Windsor, Ontario, Canada.269-274.
1989	Evans L. Passive compared to active approaches to reducing occupant fatalities. In: Proceedings of the 12th International Technical Conference on Experimental Safety Vehicles (ESV). May 29–June 1, 1989; Göteborg, Sweden.1149-1157.
1991	Evans L, Frick MC. Driver fatality risk in two-car crashes: dependence on masses of driven and striking car. In: Proceedings of the 13th International Technical Conference on Experimental Safety Vehicles (ESV). November 4-7, 1991; Paris, France.83-93.
1991	Ernst G, Brühning E, Glaeser KP, Schmid M. Compatibility problems of small and large passenger cars in head on collisions. In: Proceedings of the 13th International Technical Conference on Experimental Safety Vehicles (ESV). November 4-7, 1991; Paris, France.103-110.
1991	Ernst G, Brühning E, Glaeser K-P, Schmid M. Safety in small and large passenger cars: the compatibility problem in head-on collisions. In: Proceedings of the 1991 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 11-13, 1991; Berlin, Germany.1-12.
1991	Walz FH, Kaeser R, Niederer P. Occupant and exterior safety of low mass cars (LMC). In: Proceedings of the 1991 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 11-13, 1991; Berlin, Germany.13-24.
1992	Wood DP, Mooney S. Car crush, size and safety in frontal collisions. In: Proceedings of the 1992 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 9-11, 1992; Verona, Italy.89-103.
1996	Wood DP, Mooney SJ. Car size and relative safety: fundamental theory and real life experience compared. In: Proceedings of the 1996 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 11-13, 1996; Dublin, Ireland.223-239.
1994	Evans L. Driver injury and fatality risk in two-car crashes versus mass ratio inferred using Newtonian mechanics. Accid Anal Prev. October 1994;26(5):609-616.
1995	Miltner E, Salwende H-J. Influencing factors on the injury severity of restrained front seat occupants in car-to-car head-on collisions Accid Anal Prev. April 1995;27(2):143-150.
2002	Bédard M, H.Guyatt G, Stones MJ, Hirdes JP. The independent contribution of driver, crash, and vehicle characteristics to driver fatalities. Accid Anal Prev. November 2002;34(6):717-727.
1992	Evans L, Frick MC. Car size or car mass: which has greater influence on fatality risk? Am J Public Health. August 1992;82(8):1105-1112.
2000	Buzeman-Jewkes DG, Viano DC, Lövsund P. Occupant risk, partner risk and fatality rate in frontal crashes: estimated effects of changing vehicle fleet mass in 15 years. J Crash Prev Injury Control. 2000;2(1):1-10.
2002	Thomas P, Frampton R. Car size in U.K. crashes: the effects of user characteristics, impact configuration, and the patterns of injury. Traffic Inj Prev. 2002;3(4):275-282.
2011	Shariat-Mohaymany A, Tavakoli-Kashani A, Nosrati H, Ranjbari A. Identifying significant predictors of head-on conflicts on two-lane rural roads using inductive loop detectors data. Traffic Inj Prev. 2011;12(6):636-641.