With more than one accident happening every second, road accident casualties are the world's largest source of accidental death and injury. Of the 340,000 British road accident casualties in 1989, 190,000 (56%) were occupants of cars or light vans. This is despite the high level of seat belt wearing which, for front seat occupants, has remained at over ninety percent since belt wearing legislation was introduced in January 1983. For car occupants the first priority remains improvement in protection for frontal impacts. These account for about two-thirds of car occupant casualties. Side impacts account for a further quarter, but a somewhat higher proportion of the fatally and seriously injured. Seat belt use has reduced casualties substantially, both by reducing the number and severity of occupant contacts with the car's interior structure and by preventing ejection from the car. Research has shown that further improvements are possible, without adversely affecting car design, at relatively low cost. This paper discusses how improvements in car structural design mightbe achieved. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference, see IRRD 840727.
Abstract