Road traffic collisions generally fall into one of five common types:
Other types of collision may occur. Rollovers are not very common, but lead to greater rates of severe injury and death. Some of these are secondary events that occur after a collision with a run-off-road crash or a collision with another vehicle.
If several vehicles are involved, the term 'serial crash' may be used. If many vehicles are involved, the term 'major incident' may be used rather than 'pile up'.
In some countries, crash type classification exists for statistical purpose so that a crash is counted in one type or another.
California classify road collision by: Head-on, sideswipe, rear end, broadside, hit object, overturn, auto-pedestrian, other, not stated [1]
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French official statistics have 7 road collision types: [2]
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A head-on collision occurs when two vehicles travelling in opposite directions (more or less) collide frontally with each other. The typical cause of head-on collisions is when one vehicle inadvertently strays into the path of an oncoming vehicle. However, the root cause sometimes lies in a steering overcorrection after veering to the side of the road as opposed to the centre. [3] Head-on collisions often have poor outcomes because of the speed involved when the collision takes place. In a head-on collision, the vehicle speeds are additive—the effective collision speed is the sum of the speeds of the two vehicles. This means that, for example, if two vehicles both moving at 45 MPH collide head-on, the effective crash speed is 90 MPH; if the weights of both vehicles are about the same, then the crash forces experienced by the occupants of both vehicles will be essentially equal to those forces that would be experienced if one of the vehicles were travelling at 90 MPH and the other vehicle was stopped (with its brakes released) when the collision occurred. (If one vehicle is heavier than the other, the crash physics are not symmetrical and the 90 MPH of total crash speed will be apportioned differently depending on the actual speed of each vehicle, as the kinetic energy of each vehicle depends on both its speed and its weight.)
The likelihood of head-on collision is at its greatest on roads with narrow lanes, sharp curves, no separation of lanes of opposing traffic and high volumes of traffic. Crash severity, measured as risk of death and injury, and repair costs to vehicles, increases as speed increases.
Therefore, the roads with the greatest risk of head-on collision are busy single-carriageway roads outside urban areas where speeds are highest. [4]
Contrast this with motorways, which rarely have a high risk of head-on collision in spite of the high speeds involved, [5] because of the median separation treatments such as cable barriers, concrete step barriers, Jersey barriers, metal crash barriers, and wide medians.
The greatest risk reduction in terms of head-on collision comes through the separation of oncoming traffic, also known as median separation or median treatment, which can reduce road collisions in the order of 70%. [6] Indeed, both Ireland and Sweden have undertaken large programmes of safety fencing on 2+1 roads.
Median barriers can be divided into three basic categories: rigid barrier systems, semi-rigid barrier systems, and flexible barrier systems. Rigid barrier systems are made up of concrete and are the most common barrier type in use today [7] (e.g. Jersey barrier or concrete step barrier). They are the most costly to install, but have relatively low life-cycle costs, making them economically viable over time. The second barrier type, semi-rigid, is commonly known as guardrail or guiderail barriers. The initial installation of this type can reach as much as $100,000 per mile. [8] These more forgiving barriers are meant to absorb the impact of a crash, and as a result, increase the cost of their life-cycle with each crash and each repair. The third median barrier type is the flexible barrier systems (e.g. cable barriers). Cable barriers are the most forgiving and the least expensive to install, but have high life-cycle costs due to repair needs after crashes. On the other hand, they have been shown to have calculated cost benefits calculating to as much as $420,000 per mile annually. [7] Much cheaper collision reduction methods are to improve road markings, to reduce speeds and to separate traffic with wide central hatching. [3]
Sealing of safety zones along the side of the road (also known as a hard-shoulder) can also reduce the risk of head-on collisions caused by steering over-correction. [9]
Where a hard shoulder cannot be provided, a "safety edge" can reduce the chances of steering overcorrection. An attachment is added to the paving machine to provide a beveled edge at 30 to 35-degree angle to horizontal, rather than the usual near-vertical edge. This works by reducing the steering angle needed for the tire to climb up the pavement edge. For a vertical edge, the steering angle needed to mount the pavement edge is sharp enough to cause loss of control once the vehicle is back on top of the pavement. If the driver cannot correct this in time, the vehicle may veer into oncoming traffic, or off the opposite side of the road. [10]
Pedestrian deaths are much more common in collisions in the European Union than in the US. In the European Union countries, more than 200,000 pedestrians and cyclists are injured annually. [11]
Most pedestrians are killed by a frontal impact. In such a situation, a pedestrian is struck by a car front; for instance, the bumper touches either the leg or knee-joint area; then, the lower part of the body is accelerated forwards, while the upper part of the body rotates and accelerates to the car; this will likely cause damage to pelvis and thorax. Then the head hits the windscreen with the velocity of the striking car. Finally, the victim falls to the ground. [12]
From 2008 to 2017, pedestrian deaths resulting from vehicle collisions rose 35%, though areas with Vision Zero initiatives tended to buck this trend. [13]
As of March 2004 [update] , the pedestrian traffic fatalities ratio was 11% of all traffic deaths in the US, according to the NHTSA's National Center for Statistics and Analysis. [11] In the US, 14.5% of all deaths on the roads are pedestrians, while this ratio varies from 0.7% in North-Dakota to 45% in the District of Columbia, in 2013; this same year, 0.14 pedestrian per million inhabitant were killed in North-Dakota against 2.70 in Delaware. [14] [ contradictory ]
In cities of over 500,000 inhabitants, the score varied from 6.10 pedestrian deaths per million inhabitants for Detroit (Michigan), to a safer score of 0.85 for Columbus, Ohio, in 2013. [14]
Some well-known fatal collision conditions in the United States include vehicle speed, urban zone, intersection absence and night, according to the NHTSA. [15] According to the GHSA, in the US, 74% of pedestrian deaths occur at night time, and 72% of the deaths involve pedestrians not crossing at provided road crossing areas. [16]
According to a law professor at the University of South Carolina, if a pedestrian or cyclist is killed in a collision and thereby prevented from providing evidence, there is a risk that they will be unfairly blamed for the collision. [17] At the same time he says that what would lessen those fatalities would be not speeding, not drinking, not texting, and not being distracted.
In the US, in 2013, pedestrian fatalities were higher for the 40+ age group. [14]
The US does not test vehicles for pedestrian safety, and the NHTSA dropped efforts to impose pedestrian safety standards on US automakers more than a decade ago. [11]
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Nota: 30 mph ~ 48 km/h ; 40 mph ~ 64 km/h ; 50 mph ~ 80 km/h ; | ||
Source: FARS 1997–2005 (Final), 2006 (ARF) and GES 1997-2006. [18] |
Nonetheless, for crosswalk safety, in the US there is not much clarity regarding the need for a crosswalk to be marked or unmarked due to advantages and disadvantages of both approaches, although each city might have its own rules. [19]
In the European Union, 22% of all killed on the roads are pedestrians, while this ratio varies from 11% in the Netherlands to 39% in Latvia and Romania. UK is close to the EU mean with a 23% score. Of all those European pedestrian fatalities, 69% are killed inside urban areas. [20]
In the European Union, 8% of all killed on the roads are cyclists, while this ratio varies from 2% in Greece to 24% in the Netherlands. UK is close to the EU mean with a 9% score. Of all European cyclist fatalities, 57% are killed inside urban areas. [20]
In Europe, the majority of victims were children and elderly persons involving "low-speed" crashes in urban and residential areas. [11]
In France, in 2014, 499 pedestrians were killed and 4,323 injured. 47% of pedestrians were killed by night (233 pedestrians). This rate was 32% in urban zones, 73% in rural zones (83 deaths by night) and 91% on motorways (40 deaths by night). [21]
In Japan, the pedestrian fatality rate is 30% of all road related deaths. [11]
A single-vehicle collision occurs when a single road vehicle has a collision without involving any other vehicle. [22]
They usually have similar root causes to head-on collisions, but no other vehicle happened to be in the path of the vehicle leaving its lane. Severe collisions of this type can happen on motorways, since speeds are extra high, increasing the severity. [23]
Included in this category are run-off-road collisions, collisions with fallen rocks or debris in the road, rollover crashes within the roadway, and collisions with animals.
The normal inference is that the cause is operator error (although operator error is also the cause of most crashes [24] ). Common factors contributing to single-vehicle collisions include excessive speed, driver fatigue [25] and driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. [26] Environmental and roadway factors can also contribute to single-vehicle crashes. These include inclement weather, poor drainage, narrow lanes and shoulders, insufficient curve banking and sharp curves. [27] Some vehicles have unpredictable car handling characteristics or defects, which can increase the potential for a single-vehicle collision.
Suicide is also sometimes cited as a possible cause of single-vehicle collisions, although this is difficult to determine. [28] [29]
Crashes at intersections (road junctions) are a very common type of road collision types. Collisions may involve head-on impact when one vehicle crosses an opposing lane of traffic to turn at an intersection, or side impacts when one vehicle crosses the path of an adjoining vehicle at an intersection.
The risk of intersection collisions differs on rural and urban roads, with around 50% of urban crashes and 30% of rural crashes occurring at junctions. [30] In urban areas the likelihood of an intersection collision occurring is high as they typically have a higher density of junctions. On rural roads while the likelihood of a collision may be lower (because of fewer intersections), but the outcome of the collision is often significantly worse because of the increased speeds involved. [31]
Because intersection collisions often result in side-impacts they are therefore often fatal because people are seated close to the part of the car that provides little protection. [4]
The Storefront Safety Council maintains a database of crashes in which drivers collided with buildings, and estimates about sixty vehicle-in-building crashes per day in the US, leading to about 500 fatalities per year. [32] Another study in cooperation with researchers at Texas A&M University estimated that gas and convenience stores see about twenty vehicle-into-building crashes per day. [33]
Although expensive to implement, roundabouts are an effective way of reducing the speed of traffic at intersections and dramatically reducing the likelihood of high speed right-angle collisions. [34] Clear road markings and signing are low cost methods of improving safety at intersections. [35]
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically. Pedestrians may also be wheelchair users or other disabled people who use mobility aids.
Traffic calming uses physical design and other measures to improve safety for motorists, car drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. It has become a tool to combat speeding and other unsafe behaviours of drivers. It aims to encourage safer, more responsible driving and potentially reduce traffic flow. Urban planners and traffic engineers have many strategies for traffic calming, including narrowed roads and speed humps. Such measures are common in Australia and Europe, but less so in North America. Traffic calming is a calque of the German word Verkehrsberuhigung – the term's first published use in English was in 1985 by Carmen Hass-Klau.
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion. Other names include railway level crossing, railway crossing, grade crossing or railroad crossing, road through railroad, criss-cross, train crossing, and RXR (abbreviated).
Automotive safety is the study and practice of automotive design, construction, equipment and regulation to minimize the occurrence and consequences of traffic collisions involving motor vehicles. Road traffic safety more broadly includes roadway design.
Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, and passengers of on-road public transport.
A head-on collision is a traffic collision where the front ends of two vehicles such as cars, trains, ships or planes hit each other when travelling in opposite directions, as opposed to a side collision or rear-end collision.
A side collision is a vehicle crash where the side of one or more vehicles is impacted. These crashes typically occur at intersections, in parking lots, and when two vehicles pass on a multi-lane roadway.
Motorcycle safety is the study of the risks and dangers of motorcycling, and the approaches to mitigate that risk, focusing on motorcycle design, road design and traffic rules, rider training, and the cultural attitudes of motorcyclists and other road users.
Bicycle safety is the use of road traffic safety practices to reduce risk associated with cycling. Risk can be defined as the number of incidents occurring for a given amount of cycling. Some of this subject matter is hotly debated: for example, which types of cycling environment or cycling infrastructure is safest for cyclists. The merits of obeying the traffic laws and using bicycle lighting at night are less controversial. Wearing a bicycle helmet may reduce the chance of head injury in the event of a crash.
This is a list of numbers of motorcycle deaths in U.S. by year from 1994 to 2014. United States motorcycle fatalities increased every year for 11 years after reaching a historic low of 2,116 fatalities in 1997, then increased to over 5,000 around 2008 and then plateaued in the 4 to 5 thousands range in the 2010s. In nine years motorcycle deaths more than doubled from the late 1990s to 2008. Despite providing less than 1% of miles driven, they made up 15% of traffic deaths in 2012.
A junction is where two or more roads meet.
In May 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that more than 270,000 pedestrians lose their lives on the world’s roads each year, accounting for 22% of the total 1.24 million road traffic deaths. Despite the magnitude of the problem, most attempts at reducing pedestrian deaths had historically focused solely on education and traffic regulation. Since the 1970s, crash engineers have begun to use design principles that have proved successful in protecting car occupants to develop vehicle design concepts that reduce the likelihood of injuries to pedestrians in the event of a car-pedestrian crash, or reduce the likelihood of a car-pedestrian crash in the first place.
Transportation safety in the United States encompasses safety of transportation in the United States, including automobile crashes, airplane crashes, rail crashes, and other mass transit incidents, although the most fatalities are generated by road incidents annually killing 32,479 people in 2011 to over 42,000 people in 2022. The number of deaths per passenger-mile on commercial airlines in the United States between 2000 and 2010 was about 0.2 deaths per 10 billion passenger-miles. For driving, the rate was 150 per 10 billion vehicle-miles: 750 times higher per mile than for flying in a commercial airplane.
Traffic barriers keep vehicles within their roadway and prevent them from colliding with dangerous obstacles such as boulders, sign supports, trees, bridge abutments, buildings, walls, and large storm drains, or from traversing steep (non-recoverable) slopes or entering deep water. They are also installed within medians of divided highways to prevent errant vehicles from entering the opposing carriageway of traffic and help to reduce head-on collisions. Some of these barriers, designed to be struck from either side, are called median barriers. Traffic barriers can also be used to protect vulnerable areas like school yards, pedestrian zones, and fuel tanks from errant vehicles.
European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) is an international nonprofit (vzw) organisation registered in Belgium. It operates from Worting House, Basingstoke, Hampshire.
86 percent of people in the United States use private automobiles as their primary form of transportation to their workplace.
Vision Zero is a multi-national road traffic safety project that aims to achieve a roadway system with no fatalities or serious injuries involving road traffic. It started in Sweden and was approved by their parliament in October 1997. A core principle of the vision is that "Life and health can never be exchanged for other benefits within the society" rather than the more conventional comparison between costs and benefits, where a monetary value is placed on life and health, and then that value is used to decide how much money to spend on a road network towards the benefit of decreasing risk.
A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Traffic collisions often result in injury, disability, death, and property damage as well as financial costs to both society and the individuals involved. Road transport is statistically the most dangerous situation people deal with on a daily basis, but casualty figures from such incidents attract less media attention than other, less frequent types of tragedy. The commonly used term car accident is increasingly falling out of favor with many government departments and organizations, with the Associated Press style guide recommending caution before using the term. Some collisions are intentional vehicle-ramming attacks, staged crashes, vehicular homicide or vehicular suicide.
Worldwide, it was estimated that 1.25 million people were killed and many millions more were injured in motor vehicle collisions in 2013. This makes motor vehicle collisions the leading cause of death among young adults of 15–29 years of age and the ninth most frequent cause of death for all ages worldwide. In the United States, 40,100 people died and 2.8 million were injured in crashes in 2017, and around 2,000 children under 16 years old die every year.
There is debate over the safety implications of cycling infrastructure. Recent studies generally affirm that segregated cycle tracks have a better safety record between intersections than cycling on major roads in traffic. Furthermore, cycling infrastructure tends to lead to more people cycling. A higher modal share of people cycling is correlated with lower incidences of cyclist fatalities, leading to a "safety in numbers" effect though some contributors caution against this hypothesis. On the contrary, older studies tended to come to negative conclusions about mid-block cycle track safety.
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