The influence of vehicle damage on injury severity of drivers in head-on motor vehicle crashes

Data from crashes investigated through the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) Program were used to assess differences in injury patterns, severity, and sources for drivers, protected by safety belts and deploying steering wheel air bags, in head-on frontal impacts. We studied whether exterior vehicle damage with a different distribution (wide vs. narrow) across the front vehicle plane influenced injury characteristics. Drivers from both impact types were similar on the basis of demographic characteristics (except age), restraint use, and vehicle characteristics. There were significant differences in the type of object contacted and intrusion into the passenger compartment at the driver's seat location. The mean delta V (based on the kilometers per hour change in velocity during the impact) was similar for drivers in both (wide vs. narrow) impact types. There were no significant differences in injury patterns and sources except that drivers in wide impacts were almost 4 times more likely (odds ratio (OR)=3.81, 95% confidence limits (CL) 1.26, 11.5) to have an abbreviated injury scale (AIS) 3 serious or greater severity head injury. Adjusted odds ratios showed that drivers in wide impacts were less likely (OR=0.54, 95% CI 0.37, 0.79) to have severe injury (based on injury severity score (ISS)>25) when controlling for intrusion, vehicle body type, vehicle curb weight, age, proper safety belt use, and delta V. Drivers with intrusion into their position or who were driving a passenger vehicle were almost twice more likely to have severe injury, regardless of whether the frontal plane damage distribution was wide or narrow. Our study supports that the type of damage distribution across the frontal plane may be an important crash characteristic to consider when studying drivers injured in head-on motor vehicle crashes.     

Costs of large truck-involved crashes in the United States

This study provides the estimates of the costs of highway crashes involving large trucks by type of truck involved. These costs represent the present value of all costs over the victims' expected life span that result from a crash. They include medically related costs, emergency services costs, property damage costs, lost productivity, and the monetized value of the pain, suffering, and lost quality of life that a family experiences because of death or injury. Based on the latest data available, the estimated cost of police-reported crashes involving trucks with a gross weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds averaged US$ 59,153 (in 2000 dollars). Multiple combination trucks had the highest cost per crash (US$ 88,483). The crash costs per 1000 truck miles however, were US$ 157 for single unit trucks, US$ 131 for single combination trucks, and US$ 63 for multiple combinations.     

Analysis of fatal motorcycle crashes: crash typing

There were 2074 crashes fatal to a motorcycle driver in the United States during 1992. A computer program was developed to convert Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) data for these crashes into standard format English language “crash reports.” The computer generated reports were analyzed and crash type categories were defined. Five defined crash type categories accounted for 1785 (86%) of the 2074 crash events: Ran off-road (41%); ran traffic control (18%); oncoming or head-on (11%); left-turn oncoming (8%); and motorcyclist down (7%). Alcohol and excessive speed were common factors associated with motorcyclist crash involvement. Left turns and failure to yield were common factors associated with the involvement of other motorists. Suggested countermeasures include helmet use and enforcement of speed and impaired driving laws.     

Analysis of injury severity of large truck crashes in work zones

Work zones are critical parts of the transportation infrastructure renewal process consisting of rehabilitation of roadways, maintenance, and utility work. Given the specific nature of a work zone (complex arrangements of traffic control devices and signs, narrow lanes, duration) a number of crashes occur with varying severities involving different vehicle sizes. In this paper we attempt to investigate the causal factors contributing to injury severity of large truck crashes in work zones. Considering the discrete nature of injury severity categories, a number of comparable econometric models were developed including multinomial logit (MNL), nested logit (NL), ordered logit (ORL), and generalized ordered logit (GORL) models. The MNL and NL models belong to the class of unordered discrete choice models and do not recognize the intrinsic ordinal nature of the injury severity data. The ORL and GORL models, on the other hand, belong to the ordered response framework that was specifically developed for handling ordinal dependent variables. Past literature did not find conclusive evidence in support of either framework. This study compared these alternate modeling frameworks for analyzing injury severity of crashes involving large trucks in work zones. The model estimation was undertaken by compiling a database of crashes that (1) involved large trucks and (2) occurred in work zones in the past 10 years in Minnesota. Empirical findings indicate that the GORL model provided superior data fit as compared to all the other models. Also, elasticity analysis was undertaken to quantify the magnitude of impact of different factors on work zone safety and the results of this analysis suggest the factors that increase the risk propensity of sustaining severe crashes in a work zone include crashes in the daytime, no control of access, higher speed limits, and crashes occurring on rural principal arterials.     

Stop versus yield on pedestrian-involved fatal crashes in the United States

In an effort to improve pedestrian safety, several states in the United States changed their pedestrian laws by changing the requirement that drivers yield to pedestrians in crosswalks to a requirement that drivers stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. This study examined whether this change had an effect on pedestrian safety in the United States, with its focus on low-speed roads. To examine the association between changes in pedestrian laws and changes in pedestrian-involved fatal crashes, three approaches were employed: before–after analysis, time-series analysis, and cross-sectional analysis. Pedestrian-involved fatal traffic crashes on low-speed roads were extracted from the U.S. national fatal crash database, the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), from 1980 through 2005. This study found no statistically significant reduction in pedestrian-involved fatal crashes attributable to changes in the laws, yet this finding is not definitive because of study limitations such as the omission of relevant exposure data.     

Prevalence and characteristics of red light running crashes in the United States

About 40% of motor vehicle crashes occur at intersections. In recent years, the number of crashes at traffic signals has increased considerably. A major cause of such crashes is drivers disregarding traffic signals. Despite concerns about the frequent occurrence of red light violations and the significant crash consequences, relatively little is known about the overall prevalence and characteristics of red light running crashes. The present study examines the prevalence of red light running crashes on a national basis and identifies the characteristics of such crashes and the drivers involved. Cities with especially high rates of fatal red light running crashes are identified. Countermeasures to reduce red light running crashes based on collision patterns and characteristics of drivers involved are discussed. It was estimated that about 260 000 red light running crashes occur annually in the United States, of which approximately 750 result in fatalities. Comparisons were made between red light running drivers and drivers deemed not to have run red lights in these same crashes. As a group, red light runners were more likely than other drivers to be younger than age 30, male, have prior moving violations and convictions for driving while intoxicated, have invalid driver’s licenses, and have consumed alcohol prior to the crash. Comparisons also were made between characteristics of red light runners involved in daytime and nighttime crashes. Nighttime red light runners were more likely than daytime runners to be young, male, and have more deviant characteristics, 53% having high blood alcohol concentrations.     

The incidence of shopping cart-related injuries in the United States, 2002--2006

BACKGROUND: Shopping cart-related injuries are an important cause of childhood injury in the United States (US). To date, few studies have investigated the epidemiology and incidence of these injuries. METHODS: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System was utilized to identify shopping cart-related injuries from 2002 to 2006. Injury rates were calculated using the 2006 US population estimates for gender (male and female), age group (<5 years, 5-9 years, and 10-14 years), and race (White, Black, and other). RESULTS: The overall injury rate was 37.8 per 100,000 person years (PY). Injury rates did not differ significantly by gender or race. However, injury rates decreased markedly with increasing age and were highest among children <5 years of age (97.8 per 100,000 PY), followed by children 5-9 years (13.9 per 100,000 PY), and children 10-14 years (2.9 per 100,000 PY). CONCLUSIONS: Shopping carts continue to be an important cause of injuries among children. Directing safety awareness toward those families with children <5 years, mandatory safety standards, and modification of shopping cart design may decrease injury rates.     

Alcohol-related predictors of adolescent driving: Gender differences in crashes and offenses

Demographic and alcohol-related data collected from eighth-grade students (age 13 years) were used in logistic regression to predict subsequent first-year driving crashes and offenses (age 17 years). For young men's crashes and offenses, good-fitting models used living situation (both parents or not), parents' attitude about teen drinking (negative or neutral), and the interaction term. Young men who lived with both parents and reported negative parental attitudes regarding teen drinking were less likely to have crashes and offenses. For young women's crashes, a good-fitting model included friends' involvement with alcohol. Young women who reported that their friends were not involved with alcohol were least likely to have crashes. No model predicting young women's offenses emerged.     

An inter-regional comparison: fatal crashes in the southeastern and non-southeastern United States: preliminary findings

The southeastern United States, particularly those states representing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's and Federal Highway Administration's Region IV, have consistently had among the highest number of fatal crashes and fatal crash rates compared to the other five regions in the US. These states--Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, are suspected of sharing traits in common that lead to their systematically poor crash record. Inter-regional and intra-regional comparisons, such as the comparison between southeastern and non-southeastern states, raises interesting and challenging research questions that are applicable to similar comparisons. First, is there a sound practical and theoretical justification supporting an inter-regional comparison framework? Second, is there a way to construct a meaningful statistical hypothesis and test to determine whether one region, which is comprised of numerous entities, suffers from a characteristically better or worse crash record? This paper addresses each of these questions. After providing a brief summary of the Southeast's safety record, we discuss the issues pro and con surrounding inter-regional comparisons, illustrating the statistical strategy for such an analysis approach. Then, a simple generalizable statistical procedure is used for testing the hypothesis that southeastern states have a poorer crash record than non-southeastern states. Finally, we explore possible relationships between safety belt use, roadway functional class, vehicle miles of travel, and driver age on fatal crash occurrence. The data used in the analyses are from the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS), primarily data compiled for 1995. The analysis suggests that regional differences in fatal crashes may indeed exist, that these differences are related in part to seat-belt use, VMT by functional classification, and speed limit differences, and that more detailed studies are needed to quantify the effect of these and other factors. The approach developed here lends insight as to where future in-depth studies may reveal causal factors of fatal crashes, and illustrates the relative safety performance records of US regions.     

Effects of daytime running lights on multiple-vehicle daylight crashes in the United States

Involvements in multiple-vehicle daylight crashes in nine states over 4 years were analyzed for a group of passenger cars and light trucks equipped with automatic daytime running lights. On average, these vehicles were involved in 3.2% fewer multiple-vehicle crashes than vehicles without daytime running lights (P = 0.0074).     

Determinants of motor vehicle deaths in the United States: a cross-sectional analysis.

This paper uses 1987 state-level data and least-squares regression to estimate a model of motor vehicle deaths in the United States. The model includes several factors accounted for in previous cross-sectional studies of these fatalities. The estimates suggest that income, the ratio of urban to rural driving, expenditures on highway police and safety, motor vehicle inspection laws, and adult seat belt use laws with secondary enforcement provisions are inversely related to motor vehicle death rates. They also indicate that volume of driving, speed, speed variance, driving density, alcohol consumption, temperature, and a dummy variable for western states are directly related to the rates.     

Evaluation of the benefits of vehicle safety technology: The MUNDS study

Real-world retrospective evaluation of the safety benefits of new integrated safety technologies is hampered by the lack of sufficient data to assess early reliable benefits. This MUNDS study set out to examine if a “prospective” case-control meta-analysis had the potential to provide more rapid and rigorous analyses of vehicle and infrastructure safety improvements. To examine the validity of the approach, an analysis of the effectiveness of ESC using a consistent analytic strategy across 6 European and Australasian databases was undertaken. It was hypothesised that the approach would be valid if the results of the MUNDS analysis were consistent with those published earlier (this would confirm the suitability of the MUNDS approach). The findings confirm the hypothesis and also found stronger and more robust findings across the range of crash-types, road conditions, vehicle sizes and speed zones than previous. The study recommends that while a number of limitations were identified with the findings that need be addressed in future research, the MUNDS approach nevertheless should be adopted widely for the benefit of all vehicle occupants.     

Firearm storage practices and rates of unintentional firearm deaths in the United States

BACKGROUND: The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association recommend storing firearms unloaded and locked up to minimize the chance of injury. Although these recommendations appeal to common sense, no study has yet addressed whether firearm storage practices influence the risk of unintentional firearm injury. METHODS: Negative binomial regression analyses were used to assess the cross sectional relation between firearm storage practices and rates of unintentional firearm death in the United States, controlling for rates of firearm prevalence, poverty and urbanization. Recently available state-level measures of household firearm prevalence and firearm storage practices were obtained from the 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Unintentional firearm death counts and population data came from the National Center for Health Statistics. RESULTS: Independent of firearm prevalence, urbanization, and poverty, a disproportionately large share of unintentional firearm fatalities occurred in states where gun owners were more likely to store their firearms loaded, the greatest risk occurring in states where loaded firearms were more likely to be stored unlocked. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide empirical support for recommendations issued by the AMA and the AAP that firearms should be stored unloaded and locked, and suggest that promoting safer storage practices could save many lives.     

Comprehensive analysis of single- and multi-vehicle large truck at-fault crashes on rural and urban roadways in Alabama

The research described in this paper analyzed injury severities at a disaggregate level for single-vehicle (SV) and multi-vehicle (MV) large truck at-fault accidents for rural and urban locations in Alabama. Given the occurrence of a crash, four separate random parameter logit models of injury severity (with possible outcomes of major, minor, and possible or no injury) were estimated. The models identified different sets of factors that can lead to effective policy decisions aimed at reducing large truck-at-fault accidents for respective locations. The results of the study clearly indicated that there are differences between the influences of a variety of variables on the injury severities resulting from urban vs. rural SV and MV large truck at-fault accidents. The results showed that some variables were significant only in one type of accident model (SV or MV) but not in the other accident model. Again, some variables were found to be significant in one location (rural or urban) but not in other locations. The study also identified important factors that significantly impact the injury severity resulting from SV and MV large truck at-fault accidents in urban and rural locations based on the estimated values of average direct pseudo-elasticity. A careful study of the results of this study will help policy makers and transportation agencies identify location specific recommendations to increase safety awareness related to large truck involved accidents and to improve overall highway safety.     

The fatality and injury risk of light truck impacts with pedestrians in the United States

In the United States, passenger vehicles are shifting from a fleet populated primarily by cars to a fleet dominated by light trucks and vans (LTVs). Because light trucks are heavier, stiffer, and geometrically more blunt than passenger cars, they pose a dramatically different type of threat to pedestrians. This paper investigates the effect of striking vehicle type on pedestrian fatalities and injuries. The analysis incorporates three major sources of data, the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the General Estimates System (GES), and the Pedestrian Crash Data Study (PCDS). The paper presents and compares pedestrian impact risk factors for sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, vans, and cars as developed from analyses of US accident statistics. Pedestrians are found to have a two to three times greater likelihood of dying when struck by an LTV than when struck by a car. Examination of pedestrian injury distributions reveals that, given an impact speed, the probability of serious head and thoracic injury is substantially greater when the striking vehicle is an LTV rather than a car.     

The relationship of underage drinking laws to reductions in drinking drivers in fatal crashes in the United States

This study reports on an effort to evaluate and interrelate the existence and strength of two core laws and 14 expanded laws designed to (a) control the sales of alcohol, (b) prevent possession and consumption of alcohol, and (c) prevent alcohol impaired driving by youth aged 20 and younger. Our first analysis determined if the enactment of the possession and purchase laws (the two core minimum legal drinking age laws) was associated with a reduction in the ratio of drinking to nondrinking drivers aged 20 and younger who were involved in fatal crashes controlling for as many variables as possible. The ANOVA results suggest that in the presence of numerous covariates, the possession and purchase laws account for an 11.2% (p=0.041) reduction in the ratio measure. Our second analysis determined whether the existence and strength of any of the 16 underage drinking laws was associated with a reduction in the percentage of drivers aged 20 and younger involved in fatal crashes who were drinking. In the regression analyses, making it illegal to use a false identification to purchase alcohol was significant. From state to state, a unit difference (increase) in the strength of the False ID Use law was associated with a 7.3% smaller outcome measure (p=0.034).     

Effects of the reduced toxicity of car exhaust on accidental deaths: a comparison of the United States and Great Britain

A study of the frequency of car exhaust as a cause of accidental death in the United States from 1968 to 1984 showed that the accidental death rate from car exhaust has declined during the same period during which the toxicity of car exhaust has been reduced through the imposition of emission controls. However, in Great Britain, where there are no emission controls on cars, the accidental death rate from car exhaust has risen slightly over the same period. Thus, the introduction of emission controls on cars to reduce pollution of the environment seems to have had incidental beneficial effects on mortality from accidental poisoning from car exhaust.