Crashworthiness is the relative safety of vehicles in preventing severe injury in crashes. Crashworthiness ratings for 1982-95 model vehicles were developed based on data on crashes in Victoria and New South Wales during 1987-95. Crashworthiness was measured by a combination of injury severity (of injured drivers) and injury risk (of drivers involved in crashes). Injury severity was based on 72,885 drivers injured in crashes in the two States. Injury risk was based on 332,000 drivers involved in crashes in New South Wales where a vehicle was towed away. The ratings were adjusted for the driver sex and age, the speed limit at the crash location, and the number of vehicles involved, factors which were found to be strongly related to injury risk and/or severity. They estimate the risk of a driver being killed or admitted to hospital when involved in a tow-away crash, to a degree of accuracy represented by the confidence limits of the rating in each case. The estimates and their associated confidence limits were sufficiently sensitive that they were able to identify 42 models of passenger cars, four-wheel drive vehicles, passenger vans and light commercial vehicles which have superior or inferior crashworthiness characteristics compared with the average vehicle. Also investigated is the relationship between vehicle crashworthiness and the year of manufacture of Australian vehicles manufactured from 1964 to 1995. The data covered 977,000 drivers involved in tow-away crashes in New South Wales during 1987-95, and 218,000 drivers injured in crashes in Victoria or New South Wales during the same period. Cars, station wagons and taxis manufactured during the years 1964 to 1995 were considered. The results of this report are based on a number of assumptions and warrant a number of qualifications which should be noted.
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