ACCIDENT DATA TABULATIONS FOR EVALUATION OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD 108

The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of side marker lamps and/or side reflex reflector requirements in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108. The analyses are aimed at determining whether the Standard has resulted in a significant reduction in the rate of nighttime crashes in accidents where presence or absence of side marker lamps and/or side reflex reflectors should make a difference. The study is based on the North Carolina mass accident data from the period 1971-1980. In modeling the data, a weighted logistic regression approach is used which involves directly the parameter, percent of fleet equipped with side marker lamps and/or side reflex reflectors, and which also eliminates the need to have a control group. The results of the analyses show that side marker lamps and/or side reflex reflectors are significantly effective in reducing the nighttime accident rates. The overall average of the actual percent reductions in the nighttime accident rate on account of Standard 108 are 10.7% for the test group and 13.0% for the refined test group. The corresponding reductions assuming all vehicles met Standard 108 are 15.4% and 19.2% respectively. The percentages are correspondingly higher for injury and fatal crashes. These resulted in the following estimates that in the 10 years between 1971 and 1980, there were on the average about 515 (315 based on refined test group) accident cases per year that were actually prevented on account of this standard, and 740 (525 based on refined test group) accident cases per year that would have been prevented if all vehicles on the road were to have met the relevant requirements of the standard.

• Corporate Authors:

  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

  Highway Safety Research Center
  Chapel Hill, NC  United States  27599

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • CHI, GYH
  • EASTERLING, D
• Publication Date: 1983-4-1

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 151 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash rates; Lamps; Night; Reflectorized materials; Safety; Signal face; Standards; Traffic crashes; Traffic safety; Vehicle safety
• Identifier Terms: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
• Old TRIS Terms: Side marker lamps; Vehicular safety
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I81: Accident Statistics; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00390469
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HSRC-PR117 Final Rpt., HS-036 969
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Nov 30 1984 12:00AM