ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS AND THE ABBREVIATED INJURY SCALE (AIS) IN JAPAN

Although in Japan the number of casualties from road traffic accidents decreased substantially during a period of improvement of safety measures, in recent years it has remained rather constant. To decrease accidents still further it is necessary to investigate the circumstances of road traffic accidents and the severity of resulting casualties in detail. For this purpose 167721 cases of road traffic accident casualties occurring between February and April 1979, throughout Japan were analyzed. (1) it was found that 74.2% of all the cases suffered injuries corresponding to AIS-1; 30% of these involved neck injuries.(2) there were 2654 fatal cases, 67% of which involved head injuries, chiefly cerebral contusion, cranial base fracture,and intracranial hemorrhage. There were fatal cases in the categories of AIS-3 or below which are generally considered not fatal, but those were due to complications. (3) the chief sites of injury varied according to the victim's mode of transport: in an automobile the neck was the site most frequently injured; on a motorcycle the legs and head were usually involved; on a bicycle or walking the head and legs were most at risk. (4) injuries to pedestrians often fell under the severer AIS-4 or higher codes and constituted 43% of total deaths. (5) accidents with automobiles changing lanes tended to cause serious injuries and many deaths. Other characteristics of road traffic accidents in Japan are analyzed and discussed. (Author/TRRL)

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00014575
• Corporate Authors:

  Pergamon Press, Incorporated

  Headington Hill Hall
  Oxford OX30BW,    
• Authors:
  • Tsuchihashe, M
  • Nishikawa, S
  • Mii, K
  • Okamura, M
• Publication Date: 1981-3

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 37-42
• Serial:
  • Accident Analysis & Prevention
  • Volume: 13
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0001-4575
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00014575

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Bicycles; Brain; Classification; Crash analysis; Crashes; Cyclists; Data analysis; Drivers; Fatalities; Hazards; Injuries; Injury severity; Lane changing; Leg; Mathematical analysis; Motorcycles; Motorcyclists; Neck; Pedestrian vehicle crashes; Pedestrians; Risk assessment; Statistics; Traffic crashes; Walking
• Identifier Terms: Abbreviated Injury Scale
• Uncontrolled Terms: Severity
• Geographic Terms: Japan
• ITRD Terms: 1643: Accident; 2030: Brain; 2040: Cervical vertebrae; 8513: Classification; 1742: Cyclist; 1772: Driver; 1602: Fatality; 2163: Injury; 8053: Japan; 2023: Leg (human); 1752: Motorcyclist; 1733: Pedestrian; 1623: Severity (accid, injury); 6555: Statistics; 758: Walking
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I81: Accident Statistics; I84: Personal Injuries;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00341440
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-032 300
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 22 1981 12:00AM