The causes for 131 fatal crashes of lap- shoulder belted occupants were analyzed for accident avoidance opportunities. Fourteen crash scenarios were determined to depict the situation and circumstances of the accidents. Each scenario is discussed in relation to crash type, driving action or behavior, inadvertent error, and influencing factors associated with crash causation. Nearly a third involved a rapid, unpredictable onset by reckless action or mistake by another vehicle. (A slightly different version of this study is published in the `Proceedings of the 35th annual conference of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine AAAM, Toronto, Canada, October 7-9, 1991', p. 335-349, see IRRD 847319).
Abstract