TRI-LEVEL STUDY OF THE CAUSES OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Data were collected on three levels. Police reports and other baseline data on the Monroe County, Indiana study area were collected on Level A. On Level B, teams of technicians responded to accidents at the time of their occurrence to conduct on-scene investigations; a total of 2,258 investigations were conducted during Phases II through V. Concurrently, 420 of these accidents were independently examined by a multidisciplinary team on Level C. General population surveys were also conducted. Human factors were cited by the in-depth team as probable causes in 92.6% of accidents investigated in Phases II through V. Environmental factors were cited as probable causes in 33.8% of these accidents, while vehicular factors were identified as probable causes in 12.6%. The major human direct causes were improper lookout, excessive speed, inattention, improper evasive action, and internal distraction. Leading environmental causes were view obstructions and slick roads. The major vehicular causes were brake failure, inadequate tread depth, side-by-side brake imbalance, under-inflation, and vehicle-related vision obstructions. Vision (especially poor dynamic visual acuity) and personality (especially poor personal and social adjustment) were found related to accident-involvement. However, as measured in this study, knowledge of the driving task was not shown to be related.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • See also report dated June 75, PB-247091.
• 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
• Authors:
  • Treat, J R
  • Tumbas, N S
  • McDonald, S T
  • Shinar, D
  • HUME, R D
• Publication Date: 1979-5-30

Media Info

• Pagination: 69 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alertness; Attention; Brakes; Crash causes; Crash injury research; Crash investigation; Crash reports; Crashes; Data collection; Defects; Design; Environmental impacts; Failure; Human factors; Maintenance; Police; Research; Roads; Tires; Traffic crashes; Traffic safety; Vehicles; Visibility; Weather
• Uncontrolled Terms: Motor vehicle accidents
• Subject Areas: Design; Environment; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00305724
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: DOTHS034353579TAC(5)Final Rpt, DOT-HS-805-099
• Contract Numbers: DOT-HS-034-3-535
• Files: NTIS, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 27 1980 12:00AM