HOW MUCH SAFER ARE YOU IN A LARGE CAR?

Two sources of data, one describing exposure and another describing fatal accidents, were used to estimate the national distribution of fatalities classified by four age groups and two vehicle size groups. The results show that the probability of receiving a fatal injury is greater in small cars than it is in large cars, and that the difference increases with age. This is true despite the fact that older drivers tend to be involved in less severe crashes. The reasons for these findings are discussed with particular attention given to injury patterns within different age groups.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Presented at the Automotive Engineering Congress and Exposition, Detroit, Mich., Feb. 24-28, 1975.
• Corporate Authors:

  Society of Automotive Engineers

  485 Lexington Avenue
  New York, NY  United States  10017
• Authors:
  • O'Day, J
  • Kaplan, R J
• Publication Date: 1975-2

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 12 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age; Compact automobiles; Crash exposure; Drivers; Fatalities; Large automobiles
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver age
• Old TRIS Terms: Large car; Small car
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00083676
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Highway Safety Research Institute
• Report/Paper Numbers: SAE #750116, HS-018 168, HS-016 808
• Files: HSL, TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 22 1983 12:00AM