IMPROVING AUTOMOBILE SAFETY: THE ROLE OF INDUSTRY, THE GOVERNMENT, AND THE DRIVER

This paper identifies three groups that can improve automotive safety: the automotive industry, be designing into cars such safety devices as seat belts, roll bars, or air bags; the government, by taking such measures as improving road conditions, enforcing seat belt usage laws or enforcing stricter anti-drunk-driving laws; and finally, the driver, by adopting driving habits such as wearing seat belts and not driving while intoxicated. Of the seven strategies they identified for improving automotive safety, the authors argue that "as low as reasonably achievable" (ALARA) is the most applicable risk reduction strategy within the context of improving automotive safety. By applying the ALARA principle to past and proposed safety improvements, they demonstrate that the most lives saved per dollar spent would occur if drivers modified their driving habits.

• Corporate Authors:

  RAND Corporation

  1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138
  Santa Monica, CA  United States  90407-2138
• Authors:
  • Soloman, K A
  • Perkins, P E
  • Resetar, S A
• Publication Date: 1985-5

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 28 p.
• Serial:
  • Selected Rand Abstracts
  • Publisher: RAND Corporation

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air bags; Automobile industry; Behavior; Drivers; Hazards; Highways; Improvements; Manual safety belts; Risk assessment; Roll bars; Traffic law enforcement; Vehicle design; Vehicle safety
• Old TRIS Terms: Vehicular safety
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00453670
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: P-7069
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 31 1986 12:00AM