MAJOR TYPES OF FATAL CRASHES BETWEEN LARGE TRUCKS AND CARS

More than 3,700 passenger vehicle occupants died in crashes involving large trucks in 1994. To better understand how and why these crashes occur, crash type analysis was applied to a 50% systematic sample of the 3,178 fatal large truck-passenger vehicle crashes in 1993 from the Fatal Accident Reporting System. Odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals were estimated to identify associated roadway, environmental, vehicular, and driver factors. The two most common crash types, "oncoming" (head-on) and "ran traffic control" (vehicle required to stop or yield fails to do so), accounted for 61% of all crashes; these crash types typically occur on undivided roads (ORs = 7.1 and 1.4, respectively). Slippery road conditions (OR = 2.4), hills (OR = 1.6), and curves (OR = 5.3) were significant risk factors for "oncoming" crashes. The next three most common crash types were "stop/stopping" (stopped or slowing vehicle is struck from behind), "run down" (vehicle strikes another moving in same direction at unimpeded speed), and "lane change" (vehicle moves into an already occupied lane); these crashes were significantly more likely to occur on divided roads (ORs on undivided roads = 0.27, 0.09, and 0.02, respectively). Reduced light conditions were a significant risk factor for "stop/stopping" (OR = 2.0) and "run down" (OR = 4.8) crashes. Countermeasures to reduce the risk of truck-car crashes include modifying the structure of trucks to make them less likely to inflict injuries in collisions with other vehicles, making trucks more conspicuous, improving truck brakes, and improving enforcement of existing highway safety laws.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper also appears in the 40th Annual Proceedings of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine Conference, October 7-9, 1996, pp 153-169 (ISSN 0892-6484).
• Corporate Authors:

  Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

  1005 North Glebe Road
  Arlington, VA  United States  22201
• Authors:
  • Braver, E R
  • Preusser, D F
  • Williams, A F
  • WEINSTEIN, H B
• Publication Date: 1996-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 17 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Brakes; Countermeasures; Crash types; Fatalities; Frontal crashes; Heavy duty trucks; Lane changing; Probability; Rear end crashes; Risk analysis; Risk assessment; Traffic law enforcement; Traffic violations; Truck crashes; Trucks; Vehicle design; Visibility
• Old TRIS Terms: Odds ratios; Overtaking collisions; Traffic law violations; Truck brakes
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Design; Highways; Motor Carriers; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; Vehicles and Equipment; I80: Accident Studies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00725589
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 17 1996 12:00AM