Car crashes are complicated events. Most are caused by a combination of factors, including human behaviour, the road environment and the vehicle. These factors also determine the severity of the crash. Human error is a factor in 95% of all road accidents. It can take many forms: . Alcohol: Alcohol can have a devastating effect on driving ability. It is the biggest single factor in road deaths, especially among young people. It adversely affects decision-making, self-criticism, balance, co-ordination, sight, touch, hearing and judgement. . Inexperience:With young people particularly, this can lead to mistakes, errors of judgement and irresponsible behaviour, especially driving too fast. . Tiredness/illness: This reduces a road user’s ability to cope with road conditions and situations. . Other reasons: (children 0-15 years) include: Poor parental/adult supervision, small physical stature, stress or being upset, curiosity and taking risks, spirit of adventure, ignorance of the world and its dangers, lack of knowledge and training, inability to judge speed and distance, lack of attention, being easily distracted. All of these can result in children dashing out into the road without looking. . Other reasons (Adults) include: Impatience, stress, carelessness, negligence, absentmindedness, irresponsible behaviour, inadequate knowledge and training, ageing, drugs and medicines, a general disregard for personal health and safety. Environmental problems (weather conditions, road and junction design, and road surfaces) are a factor in around 18% of road accidents. Weather: rain can reduce visibility and make it harder to stop. Strong winds can be hazardous for cyclists. Road design: busy junctions which are fine for cars may be dangerous for other road users. Road surface: pot holes, bumps and badly maintained roads can cause problems, especially for cyclists. If the road surface is wet and slippery it takes longer to stop when braking. Vehicle Issues are a factor in 5.5% of road accidents. This is a relatively small factor because of annual ‘M.O.T.’ tests to check vehicles’ road worthiness and improved vehicle construction. Vehicle safety is now one of the top priorities of manufacturers, and the past 10 years have seen an improvement in the safety of modern vehicles. Vehicles have more efficient crumple zones and more vehicles have airbags, which help to protect occupants. This process has been partly driven by consumer demand. Organisations such as EuroNCAP publish crash test results which encourage manufacturers to gain better results than their competitors by setting safety as a design priority. Currently EuroNCAP tests vehicles in many ways. Front and side impact tests examine the occupants’ protection, and front impact tests evaluate the level of injury the bumper and bonnet will cause to a pedestrian who is struck by the car. Recently, the organisation has examined ways of encouraging drivers to purchase vehicles that are less likely to be involved in an accident in the first place, and has recommended Electronic Stability Programs. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting