There is a whole series of indicators which can measure road safety. Some of these relate to active safety and are concerned with exposure to accidents and others relate to passive safety and evaluate the consequences of accidents when these have occurred. The age of drivers is one of the key factors as regards crash involvement and risk related to a measure of exposure. It is also known that the weight of vehicles plays a major role in passive safety, both in occupant protection and aggressiveness towards other road users. The performance of vehicles and the way in which they are driven may also affect the consequences of accidents through impact speeds. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the interaction of these drivers and vehicle related criteria using active and passive safety indicators. In order to achieve this, the attempt shall be made to evaluate the combined influence of driver age and type of vehicle driven, as they affect both the risk of crash involvement and the rates of crash severity, and taking into account the type of accident. (A)
Abstract