CAR SIZE AND OCCUPANT FATALITY RISK, ADJUSTED FOR DIFFERENCES IN DRIVERS AND DRIVING CONDITIONS

This study attempts to determine whether the disadvantage of small cars is due to their small size, or whether it is due to other factors such as drivers, driving environment, and the presence of larger cars on the highway. The effects of driver factors and driving conditions are estimated and the fatality rates are adjusted so that they reflect more closely the effects of vehicle factors. The 1981 and 1982 fatal accidents reported in the Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) was the data base for this study. The car classes distinguished were as follows: small subcompact, small compact, large compact, intermediate, and large. Driver characteristics and driving environment have a strong effect on the driver fatality risk. In considering occupant death rates, single-car accidents were studied, and it was found that there was a clear difference between small and large subcompacts on the one hand and larger compacts and longer cars on the other. In car-car collisions, the occupant fatality rate was found to decrease with increasing weight and wheelbase. Recent data show that Japanese cars have occupant death rates comparable to domestic cars and European subcompacts have lower rates than either of the others.

• Corporate Authors:

  Center for the Environment and Man, Incorporated

  275 Windsor Street
  Hartford, CT  United States  06120

  AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

  8111 Gatehouse Road
  Falls Church, VA  United States  22047
• Authors:
  • Joksch, H C
  • THOREN, S
• Publication Date: 1984-1

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 36 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Compact automobiles; Crashes; Drivers; Driving; Fatalities; Foreign automobiles; Hazards; Human characteristics; Large automobiles; Risk assessment; Single vehicle crashes; Subcompact automobiles; Vehicle occupants; Vehicle size; Vehicle weight; Wheel base
• Identifier Terms: Fatal Accident Reporting System
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver characteristics; Driving conditions
• Old TRIS Terms: Foreign vehicles; Intermediates; Large car; Small car; Subcompact cars
• Subject Areas: Highways; Passenger Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Society; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00391801
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: CEM 4308-754, HS-037 210
• Files: HSL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 30 1985 12:00AM