THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INJURIES TO PEDESTRIANS AND FRONTAL DESIGN OF MOTOR VEHICLES INVOLVED IN COLLISION WITH PEDESTRIANS. PART 2: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT DATA RECORDED IN GENERAL POLICE ACCIDENT PROCEDURE, FOR ONE YEAR IN NEW SOUTH WALES, HAS BEEN ANALYZED. THE DATA SHOW THAT WHEN A PEDESTRIAN IS STRUCK BY A CAR HE OR SHE WILL RECEIVE, ON THE AVERAGE, 2 INJURIES. THESE INJURIES WILL MOST LIKELY BE TO THE LIMBS, ESPECIALLY THE LEGS, AND TO THE HEAD: IN 1 OUT OF 20 CASES THESE INJURIES WILL PROVE FATAL. THE ANALYSIS HAS NOT REVEALED ANY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EITHER THE VALUES OF INJURY AND FATALITY PER ACCIDENT OR INJURY LOCATION, FOR CAR MODEL AND MAKES WHEN THEY ARE INTERCOMPARED. HOWEVER SUB-ANALYSES INDICATE THAT WHILE MODELS WITH HEADLIGHT HOODS MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF INJURIES THAN TO THOSE WITHOUT, IT IS PROBABLE THAT GENERAL FRONTAL STYLING, I.E. SHAPE AND HEIGHT, HAS A GREATER INFLUENCE ON PEDESTRIAN TRAUMA THAN DOES THE DESIGN OF SPECIFIC FEATURES. GENERAL STYLING PROBABLY INFLUENCES THE SEVERITY OF THE SECONDARY IMPACTS OF PEDESTRIANS WITH THE STRIKING VEHICLE AND THE ROAD. IT HAS BEEN FOUND THAT THE SEVERITY OF TRAUMA IS ALSO RELATED TO BOTH THE SPEED OF THE VEHICLE AND THE AGE OF THE PEDESTRIAN INVOLVED: THE INCIDENCE OF FATALITY RISES SHARPLY ABOVE VALUES OF 20 MILES/HR. AND 50 YEARS. WHILE SOME REDUCTION IN TRAUMA IS PROBABLE THROUGH PROPER SCIENTIFIC DESIGN OF VEHICLE FRONTS, AS IS INDICATED BY CASE BOOK ACCIDENT STUDIES, IT IS CONCLUDED THAT BECAUSE OF THEIR INHERENT PHYSICAL DISPARITIES PEDESTRIANS AND VEHICLES ARE JUST NOT COMPATIBLE. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT MORE ATTENTION SHOULD BE PAID TO BOTH SEPARATING THE TWO AND REDUCING THE SPEED OF VEHICLES WHEN IN THE VICINITY OF PEDESTRIANS. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Rept No RP 212
• Corporate Authors:

  University of New South Wales

  School of Traffic Engineering
  Kensington, New South Wales  Australia  2033
• Authors:
  • FISHER, A J
  • HALL, R R
• Publication Date: 1970-7

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 28 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash injury research; Crash investigation; Crashes; Fatalities; Injuries; Pedestrian vehicle crashes; Research; Speed; Vehicle characteristics
• Subject Areas: Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00224396
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Highway Safety Research Institute
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 24 1973 12:00AM