STATISTICAL EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD 207: SEAT BACK LOCKS (ONLY)

FMVSS 207 is a death-and-injury-reduction Standard which requires a self-locking restraining device for folding seats and seat backs, that must meet specified static load tests. The Standard became effective 1 January 1968. More than 600,000 cases of driver involvement in frontal collisions were analyzed using mass accident data from Texas (1972-1974), New York (1974) and North Carolina (1973-1975). Contingency table data were subjected to log-linear modeling and adjustment to minimize potential confound effects and allow direct comparison of injury rates between drivers of 2-door and 4-door cars. The results of the analyses do not support the hypothesis that the introduction of seat back locks in 2-door passenger cars reduces the injury risk to drivers in these cars. While the analysis was not completely successful in removing all confounding effects, it can be inferred that the effect of seat back locks on driver injury risk, if any, is small and very difficult to quantify, given the potential for confounding effects from the implementation of other Standards and the possible interactive effects between vehicle body style and weight and driver characteristics. The question of possible rear seat occupant entrapment in accidents involving fire and/or explosion or immersion was very clearly settled by the analysis of FARS data.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • See also report no. 4, PB81-152225.
• Corporate Authors:

  Center for the Environment and Man, Incorporated

  275 Windsor Street
  Hartford, CT  United States  06120

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Ball, J T
  • Knoop, J C
  • Northrop, G M
  • Sweeton, E
• Publication Date: 1980-10

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 197 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash injury research; Crashes; Fasteners; Injuries; Load tests; Locks (Fasteners); Locks (Waterways); Mathematical models; Measures of effectiveness; Research; Safety equipment; Seats; Standards; Static loads; Statistical analysis; Traffic crashes; Vehicle safety
• Uncontrolled Terms: Effectiveness; Models; Motor vehicle accidents
• Old TRIS Terms: Vehicular safety
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I81: Accident Statistics; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00329012
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: CEM-4254-674 Final Rpt., HS-805 659
• Contract Numbers: DOT-HS-8-02014
• Files: HSL, NTIS, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: May 21 1982 12:00AM