Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
573272 | Accident Analysis & Prevention | 2009 | 7 Pages |
Abstract
Knowledge of the amount of violence tolerated by the human body is essential when developing and implementing pedestrian safety strategies. When estimating the potential benefits of new countermeasures, the pedestrian fatality risk as a function of impact speed is of particular importance. Although this function has been analysed previously, we state that a proper understanding does not exist. Based on the largest in-depth, pedestrian accident study undertaken to date, we derive an improved risk function for adult pedestrians hit by the front of passenger cars. Our results show far lower fatality risks than generally reported in the traffic safety literature. This discrepancy is primarily explained by sample bias towards severe injury accidents in earlier studies. Nevertheless, a strong dependence on impact speed is found, with the fatality risk at 50Â km/h being more than twice as high as the risk at 40Â km/h and more than five times higher than the risk at 30Â km/h. Our findings should have important implications for the development of pedestrian accident countermeasures worldwide. In particular, the scope of future pedestrian safety policies and research should be broadened to include accidents with impact speeds exceeding 50Â km/h.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Chemical Health and Safety
Authors
Erik Rosén, Ulrich Sander,