Driver fatalities versus car mass using a new exposure approach

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Evans, Leonard¹

Driver fatalities versus car mass using a new exposure approach

Accid Anal Prev. February 1984;16(1):19-36

©1984 Pergamon Press Ltd.

Affiliations

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

A new approach to estimating exposure is presented and applied to determining relations between car mass and driver fatality likelihood. The new approach considers two groups of fatal crashes in the FARS files. The first group contains crashes in which car drivers are killed in single car crashes or in crashes with trucks. These are both examples of non-two car crashes. It is hypothesized that the likelihood of a car driver fatality in such crashes depends on car mass. The second group of fatal crashes contains crashes in which either pedestrians or motorcyclists are killed in crashes with cars. It is hypothesized that the likelihood of the pedestrian or motorcyclist being killed in such crashes is independent of the mass of the car. The new exposure approach implies that the ratio of the number of people killed in the mass dependent crash to those killed in the mass independent crash gives an estimate of how car mass affects the likelihood of a driver fatality. The approach further implies that the estimate obtained is an estimate of the physical effect of mass, essentially independent of driver behavior. It is found that the new exposure approach yields relationships between driver fatality likelihood and car mass that are more precise and consistent than can normally be obtained in accident research. The effects found, which are attributed to the physical properties of the vehicle, essentially independent of driver behavior, are larger (for example, a driver of a 900 kg car is 2.6 times as likely to be killed as is a driver of a 1800kg car) than those based on fatalities per car.
Links

DOI: 10.1016/0001-4575(84)90003-4

WoS: A1984SF62300002
History

Received: 1982-07-01

Revised: 1983-03-24

Cited By (26)

Year	Entry
2003	Kahane CJ. Vehicle Weight, Fatality Risk and Crash Compatibility of Model Year 1991-99 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; October 2003. NHTSA Technical Report DOT HS 809 662.
1984	Evans L, Wasielewski P. Serious or fatal driver injury rate versus car mass in head-on crashes between cars of similar mass. In: 28th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 8-10, 1984; Denver, CO.123-138.
1985	Chenier TC, Evans L. Motorcyclist fatalities and the repeal of mandatory helmet wearing laws. In: 29th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 7-9, 1985; Washington, DC.393-406.
1986	Evans L, Frick MC. Safety belt effectiveness in preventing driver fatalities versus a number of vehicular, accident, roadway and environmental factors. In: 30th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 6, 1986; Montreal, QC.329-343.
1987	Evans L. Fatal and severe crash involvement versus driver age and sex. In: 31st Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). September 28-30, 1987; New Orleans, LA.59-77.
1988	Evans L, Frick MC. Relative fatality risk in different seating positions versus car model year. In: 32nd Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). September 12-14, 1988; Seattle, WA.1-13.
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.
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.
1998	Mizuno K, Kajzer J. The compatibility of mini cars in traffic accidents. In: Proceedings of the 16th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 31–June 4, 1998; Windsor, Ontario, Canada.715-728.
1985	Evans L. Car size and safety: results from analyzing U.S. accident data. In: Proceedings of the 10th International Technical Conference on Experimental Safety Vehicles (ESV). July 1-4, 1985; Oxford, England.548-556. SAE 856074.
1987	Evans L. Occupant protection device effectiveness in preventing fatalities. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Technical Conference on Experimental Safety Vehicles (ESV). May 12-15, 1987; Washington, DC.220-227.
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	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.
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.
1986	Evans L. Double pair comparison: a new method to determine how occupant characteristics affect fatality risk in traffic crashes. Accid Anal Prev. June 1986;18(3):217-227.
1986	Evans L. The effectiveness of safety belts in preventing fatalities. Accid Anal Prev. June 1986;18(3):229-241.
1987	Evans L, Wasielewski P. 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.
1993	Evans L, Frick MC. Mass ratio and relative driver fatality risk in two-vehicle crashes. Accid Anal Prev. April 1993;25(2):213-224.
1999	Mizuno K, Kajzer J. Compatibility problems in frontal, side, single car collisions and car-to-pedestrian accidents in Japan. Accid Anal Prev. July 1999;31(4):381-391.
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.
1988	Evans L. Older driver involvement in fatal and severe traffic crashes. J Gerontol. November 1988;43(6):S186-S193.
1986	Evans L, Frick MC. Safety belt effectiveness in preventing driver fatalities versus a number of vehicular, accident, roadway, and environmental factors. J Safety Res. Winter, 1986;17(4):143-154.
1988	Evans L. Risk of fatality from physical trauma versus sex and age. J Trauma. March 1988;28(3):368-378.
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.