Dg. Buzeman et al., CAR OCCUPANT SAFETY IN FRONTAL CRASHES - A PARAMETER STUDY OF VEHICLEMASS, IMPACT SPEED, AND INHERENT VEHICLE PROTECTION, Accident analysis and prevention, 30(6), 1998, pp. 713-722
A new mathematical model was developed to estimate average injury and
fatality rates in frontal car-to-car crashes for changes in vehicle fl
eet mass, impact speed distribution, and inherent vehicle protection.
The estimates were calculated from injury/fatality risk data, delta-V
distribution and collision probability of two vehicles, where delta V-
depends on impact speed and mass of the colliding vehicles. The impact
speed distribution was assumed to be unaffected by a change in fleet
mass distribution. The results showed that safety in frontal crashes w
ould improve 27-35% by a 10% increase in fatality risk parameters, whi
ch reflected substantial improvement in inherent vehicle protection. A
40% safety improvement was attained by a 10% impact speed reduction.
Consequences of vehicle fleet mass were not as strong, but depended on
the average mass ratio of the fleet. A reduction in mass range would
be the most beneficial, while a uniform mass reduction of 20% would in
crease the fatality rate by 5.4%. The model estimates trends in traffi
c safety and may help to identify priorities in active and passive saf
ety. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. Ail rights reserved.