TRI-LEVEL STUDY OF THE CAUSES OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS: INTERIM REPORT II. VOLUME II: RADAR AND ANTI-LOCK BRAKING PAYOFF ASSESSMENT

A set of accidents investigated in-depth by a multidisciplinary team has been examined to assess the benefit derived from the hypothetical application of various combinations of radar and anti-lock braking systems. A total of 215 accidents, which are generally representative of all police-reported accidents in terms of such variables as severity and road surface condition, have been considered. The approach has been to have an accident analyst evaluate on a case-by-case basis the benefit which would have been derived if one or more of the vehicles involved in each accident had been equipped with various types and combinations of these hypothetical systems. A total of ten system types or combinations were defined. On one extreme, it was found that two-wheel anti-lock systems, by themselves, have relatively little accident prevention potential; only one of the 215 accidents (.5%) would definitely have been prevented by such a system, although with less assurance there was some possibility of prevention of up to eight accidents (3.7%) by such a system. On the other extreme, the most complex of the systems defined, comprised of a non-cooperative radar system with both activation and warning potential, coupled with a four-wheel anti-lock system, would definitely have prevented 39 of the accidents (18.0% of total), with some possibility of prevention of up to 90 of the accidents (41.9% of total).

• Supplemental Notes:
  • See also PB-239 828.
• Corporate Authors:

  Indiana University, Bloomington

  Institute for Research in Public Safety
  Bloomington, IN  United States  47401

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Publication Date: 1975-6

Media Info

• Pagination: 108 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Antilock brake systems; Antilock brake systems; Assessments; Brakes; Braking; Control devices; Crash causes; Crash investigation; Multidisciplinary teams; Prevention; Radar; Safety; Safety engineering; Traffic crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Motor vehicle accidents
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00093602
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: Final Rpt., DOT-HS-801-631
• Contract Numbers: DOT-HS-034-3-535
• Files: NTIS, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 4 1976 12:00AM