Despite large expenditure and increases in highway safety during the last 10 years traffic accident deaths and injuries are expected to continue in the USA despite an improvement in the country's highway safety record. With no additional emphasis on highway safety it is anticipated that the fatality rate will remain at around 3.4 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel for the next decade. In addition to the problem of examining the interactions between driver, vehicle and highway leading to death or injury, there is also the problem of examining the effectiveness of the annual investment of 7.25$ billion in highway safety. The national highway safety needs report of 1976 provides a basis for evaluating highway safety programs and the cost-effectiveness of a range of highway safety measures. The report identifies 37 accident countermeasures as offering the highest return for reducing fatalities and injuries over the next decade.
Samenvatting