FATALITIES IN FRONTAL CRASHES DESPITE SEAT BELTS AND AIR BAGS
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2007, 41.5% of the frontal fatalities were using seat belts and had airbags. Frontal fatalities were 45.4% of all fatalities.
Why are people still dying in frontal crashes despite seat belt use, air bags, and the crashworthy structures of late-model vehicles? Statistical analyses show the combination of seat belt use and air bags is highly effective, reducing fatality risk by 61% compared to an unbelted occupant of a vehicle not equipped with air bags – but 61% is not 100%. The main reason people are still dying is because so many crashes involve poor structural engagement between the vehicle and it’s collision partner. (NHTSA)
In the 41.5% of the frontal fatalities that were using seat belts and had airbags. The crush zone failed to protect the occupants. Crash energy is reduce over distance with resistance to lesson the crash energy. The Impact Dispersal System offers a extra level of protection. The system quickly reacts, dispersing the crash energy at the point of impact and then systematically shuts down according to the amount of crash energy produced by the impact reducing more crash energy with less distance.
No one would argue that it is better to destroy a vehicle than it is to cause injury or death to occupants, but the body and frame of a vehicle should be the last level of protection not the first.
Motor vehicle traffic crashes as a leading cause of death in the United States 2006 (NHTSA-NCSA)
In 2006, motor vehicle traffic crashes were the leading cause of death for every age 3 through 34. Because of the young lives consumed, motor vehicle traffic crashes ranked third overall in terms of the years of life lost, i.e. the number of remaining years that the person is expected to have lived had they not died, behind only cancer and heart diseases. Motor vehicle crashes account for over 95% of transportation related deaths. (NHTSA-NCSA)
Traffic Safety Facts 2008 National Statistics (NHTSA)
Police Reported Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes
- Fatal............................................................................34,017
- Injury ......................................................................1,630,000
- Property Damage Only ................................................ 4,146,000
- Total .......................................................................5,811,000
ROAD TRAFFIC CRASHES: GLOBAL IMPACT
Road traffic injuries are a major but neglected public health challenge that requires concerted efforts for effective and sustainable prevention. Of all the systems with which people have to deal with every day, road traffic systems are the most complex and dangerous.
- Annually, road traffic crashes cause:
- 1.2 million deaths
- 50 million injuries
- By 2020, traffic crashes will be the 6th largest cause of death worldwide
Nevertheless, the tragedy behind these figures attracts less mass media attention than other, less frequent types of tragedy.
Source: WHO World Organization on Traffic Injury Prevention 2004
U.S. ECONOMIC COST 2000 (NHTSA)
Motor Vehicle Crashes not only affect the individual crash victim, they affect society as a whole.
- The cost of motor vehicle crashes that occurred in 2000 totaled $230.6 billion. This is equal to approximately $820 for every person living in the United States.
- The lifetime economic cost to society for each fatality is over $977,000
- Each critically injured survivor cost an average of $1.1 million
Fact: When someone is injured or dies in a traffic crash, society pays many of the costs, including emergency services, uninsured medical care, tax-supported rehabilitation programs, higher insurance cost, and survivor payments. (NHTSA)
MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH PROTECTION CONCLUSIONS
As much as the improved crashworthy structures, seatbelts, air bags have improved safety, reducing fatality risk 61% that is not a 100%. There is a need for more protection. Every system has it’s limits. A new approach with different technology is needed. Crash energy has to be reduced to protect the occupants and vehicle. IDS systems should be able to double the protection of the crush zone making it safer for occupants and reducing property damage to the vehicle and in a lot of crashes give almost total protection. The system offers an extra level of protection and will not interfere with the crush zone. If there is crash energy left after it goes through the IDS system it would then go into the crush zone. The system should add no more than 2% to the vehicle’s weight.
Children & Car Accidents - The Alarming Statistics According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA)
For Children between the ages of 2 and 14, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death. By far the most common type of injury accident involving children are those that also involve motor vehicle collisions. Nearly 250,000 children are injured every year in car accidents in the US.
This means that on any given day nearly 700 children are harmed due to accidents on our roadways. Car accidents are the leading cause of acquired disability (e.g., brain injury, paralysis, etc.) for children nationwide. Of the 250,000 kids injured each year, approximately 2,000 die from their injuries. (NCSA)
NHTSA estimates that a properly installed and used child safety seat lowers a child’s risk of death by 54% for toddlers ages 1 to 4.
Evaluation of Child Occupant Protection In a 56 km/h (35 MPH) Frontal Barrier Crash (NHTSA)
In May 2005 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did a comparative study between different brands of child restraints in the same vehicle. The conclusion suggests that the price of a child safety seat may have little to do with the level of safety offered by the child restraint. (NHTSA)
What Happens During A Head-On Crash?
If your vehicle is going 60 MPH you’re going 60 MPH along with your occupants. That old saying that it’s not the fall that kills you it’s the sudden stop is true. All the crash energy that the front-end doesn’t absorb is transmitted to the child. The front occupants have help absorbing some of the crash energy that the front-end doesn’t absorb by having air bags.
According to NHTSA it was a 54% reduced risk of death if children were in a properly installed child safety seat . According to NHTSA in comparison tests there was little difference between the expensive and economical child safety seats in the level of safety offered. Children are much safer when they are properly restrained in a child safety seat. But 54% is not a 100% and since there is little difference in the protection of expensive and economical child safety seats, there is a need for more protection.
