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Motor vehicle occupant injuries to children in crash and noncrash events
Motor Vehicle Occupant Injuries to Children in Crash and Noncrash events. P. A. Agran, Pediatrics, 1982, 70(6), 993-996. The mechanisms and severity of nonfatal injuries to children in crash and noncrash situations were compared: 82 children (15%) were involved in noncrash events and 466 (85 % ) were involved in crash events. Younger children (0 to 4 years of age) were more likely to be injured in a noncrash incident. The mechanism of injury was significantly different; 45% of the children injured in a noncrash event were ejected in contrast to 5 % of the children injured in a crash event. Although more severe injuries were sustained in crashes, most of the children who were ejected in a noncrash event sustained at least moderate injuries. Use of restraint systems, door lock mechanisms, and appropriate passenger seating locations in the motor vehicle are three simple measures that could attenuate or eliminate noncrash injury.
A Preliminary Evaluation of Two Braking Improvements for Passenger Cars: Dual Master Cylinders and Front Disc Brakes. C. I. Kahane, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Program Evaluation, Washington, DC, 1983. NTIS No. DOT HS-806 359. Dual master cylinders were installed in passenger cars in order to provide a dual braking system, which is a requirement of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 105. Front disc brakes were installed to improve a car’s handling capability during braking and to enhance resistance to braking losses due to fade or water exposure: they meet the Standard 105 requirements on fade and water resistance more readily than drum brakes. The objective of this Agency staff evaluation is to determine how many fatalities, injuries, and damages are prevented by dual master cylinders and front disc brakes and to measure the actual cost of the devices. The evaluation is based on statistical analyses of North Carolina, Texas, and Fatal Accident Reporting System data, a review of Indiana in-depth accident analyses, and manufacturing and reSpring 1984/Volume
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pair cost analyses for production brake assemblies. It was found that: (1) Dual master cylinders annually prevent 40,000 accidents that would have resulted in 260 fatalities, 24,000 injuries, and $132 million in property damage. They add $17 to the lifetime cost of owning and operating a car (in 1982 dollars). (2) Front disc brakes annually prevent 10,000 accidents that would have resulted in 64 fatalities, 5,700 injuries, and $32 million in property damage. They add $21 to the lifetime cost of a car.
Recently Qualified Drivers: A Comparison of Two Methods of Driving Instruction. M. Simonnet, Ergonomics, 1982,25(10), 925-934. The progress of drivers in the year after passing the driving test has been evaluated in a number of studies undertaken in France and elsewhere. There studies have focused upon the technical and psychological difficulties that newly qualified drivers need to overcome before they come to consider themselves, and to be considered by others, as fully competent drivers. The quality of driving instruction seems to be crucial in determining the kinds of problems which new drivers must face and the time taken to achieve mastery. Two methods of driving instruction were compared in terms of the problems encountered by learners after passing their driving test. The subjects were 170 drivers taught by the traditional “driving-test” method and 269 who had taken an accelerated course of intensive instruction. Each driver was sent a series of questionnaires during the 10 months after he or she qualified. In addition to this form of continuous survey, an in-depth study of nine other new drivers was undertaken over the same period; their on-the-road behavior was used to supplement information obtained from the questionnaires. The results of the research are discussed in relation to a variety of factors: level of driver confidence, ease of vehicle handling, problems acknowledged by drivers, drivers’ attitude towards road safety, progress made in the period following the driving test, need for further instruction, response to frustration, and evaluation of aggressive tendencies. 43
A Preliminary Evaluation of Two Braking Improvements for Passenger Cars: Dual Master Cylinders and Front Disc Brakes. C. I. Kahane, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Program Evaluation, Washington, DC, 1983. NTIS No. DOT HS-806 359. Dual master cylinders were installed in passenger cars in order to provide a dual braking system, which is a requirement of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 105. Front disc brakes were installed to improve a car’s handling capability during braking and to enhance resistance to braking losses due to fade or water exposure: they meet the Standard 105 requirements on fade and water resistance more readily than drum brakes. The objective of this Agency staff evaluation is to determine how many fatalities, injuries, and damages are prevented by dual master cylinders and front disc brakes and to measure the actual cost of the devices. The evaluation is based on statistical analyses of North Carolina, Texas, and Fatal Accident Reporting System data, a review of Indiana in-depth accident analyses, and manufacturing and reSpring 1984/Volume
15INumber 1
pair cost analyses for production brake assemblies. It was found that: (1) Dual master cylinders annually prevent 40,000 accidents that would have resulted in 260 fatalities, 24,000 injuries, and $132 million in property damage. They add $17 to the lifetime cost of owning and operating a car (in 1982 dollars). (2) Front disc brakes annually prevent 10,000 accidents that would have resulted in 64 fatalities, 5,700 injuries, and $32 million in property damage. They add $21 to the lifetime cost of a car.
Recently Qualified Drivers: A Comparison of Two Methods of Driving Instruction. M. Simonnet, Ergonomics, 1982,25(10), 925-934. The progress of drivers in the year after passing the driving test has been evaluated in a number of studies undertaken in France and elsewhere. There studies have focused upon the technical and psychological difficulties that newly qualified drivers need to overcome before they come to consider themselves, and to be considered by others, as fully competent drivers. The quality of driving instruction seems to be crucial in determining the kinds of problems which new drivers must face and the time taken to achieve mastery. Two methods of driving instruction were compared in terms of the problems encountered by learners after passing their driving test. The subjects were 170 drivers taught by the traditional “driving-test” method and 269 who had taken an accelerated course of intensive instruction. Each driver was sent a series of questionnaires during the 10 months after he or she qualified. In addition to this form of continuous survey, an in-depth study of nine other new drivers was undertaken over the same period; their on-the-road behavior was used to supplement information obtained from the questionnaires. The results of the research are discussed in relation to a variety of factors: level of driver confidence, ease of vehicle handling, problems acknowledged by drivers, drivers’ attitude towards road safety, progress made in the period following the driving test, need for further instruction, response to frustration, and evaluation of aggressive tendencies. 43