SAFETY-BELT EFFECTIVENESS: THE INFLUENCE OF CRASH SEVERITY AND SELECTIVE RECRUITMENT

While theoretical considerations show that the effectiveness of occupant protection devices declines from 100% at very low crash severity to 0% at high severity, empirical details have been lacking. When overall in-use effectiveness is estimated by applying traditional methods to data sets that lack a measure of severity, large biases are introduced because non-wearing drivers are riskier drivers, an effect that has been called selective recruitment. These effects are investigated empirically using National Accident Sampling System (NASS) data in which crash severity is measured by delta-v, the estimated change in the speed of the car as a result of the crash. Supplemental results are obtained using published police-reported data containing a more easily obtained but less objective severity measure. Both data sets provide information on driver fatalities and injuries, thus allowing four comparisons of effectiveness estimates based only on total casualties with ones taking into account the different severities of crashes of belted and unbelted drivers.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00014575
• Corporate Authors:

  Elsevier

  The Boulevard, Langford Lane
  Kidlington, Oxford  United Kingdom  OX5 1GB
• Authors:
  • Evans, Leonard
• Publication Date: 1996-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 423-433
• Serial:
  • Accident Analysis & Prevention
  • Volume: 28
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0001-4575
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00014575

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Fatalities; Occupant protection devices; Recruiting; Risk assessment; Safety equipment; Seat belt use; Seat belts
• Uncontrolled Terms: Crash severity; Occupant protection
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00726196
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-042 374
• Files: HSL, TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Sep 18 1996 12:00AM