A SPECIAL STUDY OF THE SAFETY IMPLICATIONS OF THE UTILIZATION OF SMALL URBAN CARS IN THE U.S.A.

The Automotive Transportation Center of Purdue University is currently studying innovative transportation concepts which show promise of increasing the productivity of the personal automobile in the United States. One Purdue project, the Mobility Enterprise, is a concept designed to test a method for increasing automobile productivity and yet retain the personal freedom of the individually owned automobile. During the 1984 operations of the Mobility Enterprise study, a special study of the safety implications of the utilization of the small urban cars was undertaken with the support of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety to develop information on: (1) driver behavior--for urban car drivers, their choice of voluntary risk and how drivers compensate for it, and for regular car drivers, why they tailgate smaller cars and the identification of other such reactions to small car size; (2) vehicle safety performance of small urban cars in American traffic, including ability to climb hills and accelerate as needed to drive safely, eye and headlight height, and braking characteristics; (3) evaluation of Japanese data on safety records of the small urban car and the regulations governing their use in Japan; and (4) development of recommendations for a new definition of an urban car in America, including suggested vehicle safety standards specifically designed for the mini/micro car. This report summarizes the results of a series of studies aimed at these areas of interest.

• Corporate Authors:

  Purdue University

  Automotive Transportation Center
  West Lafayette, Indiana,   United States  47907

  AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

  8111 Gatehouse Road
  Falls Church, VA  United States  22047
• Publication Date: 1985-3

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: v.p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Compact automobiles; Data analysis; Drivers; Following distance; Hazards; Highway safety; Mathematical analysis; Miniature automobiles; Productivity; Risk assessment; Safety; Standards; Urban transportation; Vehicle performance; Vehicle safety
• Uncontrolled Terms: Safety standards
• Geographic Terms: Japan
• Old TRIS Terms: Following distance (Of vehicles); Microautomobiles; Miniautomobiles; Small urban vehicles; Vehicular safety
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00453202
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: Final Rpt., HS-039 369
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 28 1986 12:00AM