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https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27432/critical-issues-in-transportation-for-2024-and-beyond

Crash violence within the traffic system. Risks and their reduction on motorways

Liikennejarjestelman kolarivakivalta. Riskit ja niiden vahentaminen

The focus of this study was on fatal accidents on Finnish motorways. The accident data used was collected by the road accident investigation teams during years 2002-2007. At first stage there is presented an extensive summary of all fatal accidents during years 2002-2006 in which risk behaviour of the motor vehicle driver (illegal presence of alcohol or drugs, failure to use seatbelts or other restraint system, valid right to drive, speeding at least 20 km/h and deaths due to suicide or sickness, e.g. heart attack) was separated. At second stage only the accidents without risk behaviour were included in data. Accidents during the year 2007 were added into the data in order to increase the low number of cases. The aim was to identify the main risks of death within the traffic system to which the motor vehicle occupants are exposed. Finally the effective measures to decrease the number of fatalities were evaluated. During years 2002-2006 65 fatalities occurred on motorways. Seven of them were pedestrians and 58 were occupants of the motor vehicle). The common accident type was single vehicle accidents which led to 37 fatalities (64 % of fatalities in motor vehicles). Other significant accident types were pedestrian accidents (12%) and head-on collisions (10 %). Notable is that four of six fatalities in head-on collisions were caused by driving in wrong direction. On second stage of the study the risk-taking was excluded and only the accidents which took place in normal use of traffic system were analysed. The number of fatalities without risk-taking was 26 (3-4 per year). 11 of them (2%) died in single vehicle accidents, six in head-on collisions, three in rear-end collisions, two in overtaking accidents, two in collisions with an elk and four in type 'other' accidents. Typically there was one fatality per an accident, two fatalities occurred in three accidents. Despite the low number of accidents at least two significant risks within the traffic system was recognised. In Finland N2-class W-beam weak-post guardrails are mainly used on motorways. Wrong or insufficient performance of this kind of safety barriers was crucial in at least eight deaths, which is third of the cases. The most common risk factor related to the performance of the safety barriers was the ramped end, from which an errant vehicle climbed onto the top of the barrier or bounced into the air and beyond the barrier. Ramped ends caused half of the fatalities due to safety barrier. In two heavy vehicles and one motorcycle crash the performance of the W-beam guardrail was insufficient and incompatible with the type of crashed vehicle. In one case the poor crashworthiness of an old untested W-beam barrier contributed to the death of an occupant. Driving in wrong direction caused five fatalities. This indicates that these kinds of accidents are significant accident type on motorways. Conclusion is that safety of the roadside areas must be improved with more efficient and specified measures, e.g. by improving old guardrails and installing new safer guardrails and guardrail terminals. All vehicles should be equipped with electronic stability control (ESC) to decrease the number of run-off-the-road accidents on slippery surface. Traffic guidance at intersections should be inspected and improved to prevent the driving onto the carriageway with oncoming traffic. This report may be found at http://www.lintu.info/VIOLA_MO.pdf

Language

  • Finnish

Media Info

  • Pagination: 62p
  • Serial:
    • LINTU REPORTS
    • Issue Number: 3/2009
    • Publisher: MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01146906
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: TRL
  • ISBN: 978-952-243-083-0
  • Files: ITRD
  • Created Date: Dec 24 2009 8:27AM