THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TYPES OF FATAL TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS AND AGES OF VICTIMS

THERE IS A DEFINITE RELATION BETWEEN THE AGES OF VICTIMS AND THE MANNER IN WHICH MOST OF THEM ARE KILLED. AN ANALYSIS OF 905 FATAL ACCIDENTS OCCURRING IN DETROIT DURING THE PAST THREE YEARS SHOWED THAT NEARLY 90 PER CENT OF ALL CHILD VICTIMS UNDER 12 YEARS OF AGE WERE KILLED AS PEDESTRIANS, MOST OF THEM DARTING OUT BETWEEN PARKED CARS. FROM 12 TO 15 YEARS THE GREATEST HAZARD WAS TO CHILDREN RIDING BICYCLES, HITCHING ON TRUCKS, ROLLER SKATING AND COASTING. FROM 17 TO 30 YEARS OF AGE THE MAJORITY WERE KILLED AS OCCUPANTS OF MOTOR VEHICLES. ABOVE THAT AGE THE NUMBER OF PERSONS KILLED IN VEHICLES STEADILY DECLINED WHILE THE NUMBER OF PEDESTRIANS KILLED ROSE RAPIDLY. OF PERSONS OVER 58 YEARS OLD WHO WERE KILLED, MORE THAN 90 PER CENT WERE PEDESTRIANS. THREE-FOURTHS OF THE DRIVERS WERE 16 TO 40 YEARS OLD. ALL AGE GROUPS UNDER 45 YEARS FURNISHED FEWER PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES THAN THEIR PROPORTION OF THE TOTAL POPULATION, BUT OVER THAT AGE THE RATIO INCREASED UNTIL ABOVE 85 YEARS IT WAS 13 TIMES AS GREAT AS THE PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION IN THAT GROUP. FROM 15 TO 59 YEARS OF AGE THE PERCENTAGE OF FATALITIES TO OCCUPANTS OF MOTOR VEHICLES IS GREATER THAN THE CORRESPONDING PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POPULATION, WITH A PEAK FROM 20 TO 24 YEARS. THERE WERE OTHER PEAKS ABOVE 70 YEARS OF AGE, SO FAR AS RATIOS WERE CONCERNED, BUT THEY WERE CAUSED BY COMPARATIVELY FEW FATALITIES, AND THOSE WERE USUALLY PASSENGERS. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbproceedings/18/18Part1-038.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 18, Pt 1, PP 378-386, 6 FIG, 7 TAB. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Morrison, R L
  • Marsh, B W
• Publication Date: 1939

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Monograph Title: Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board Held at Washington, D.C. November 28-December 2, 1938. Part I
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Proceedings
  • Volume: 18
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Adolescents; Age; Drivers; Fatalities; Pedestrian vehicle crashes
• Old TRIS Terms: Minors
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00221014
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jun 1 1971 12:00AM