This paper presents a hierarchy between car-driver characteristics, according to their influence on risk and severity. The differential analysis shows the over-risk of high-powered and light vehicles, taking into account the use made of them by their drivers. It also confirms the influence of the weight of the vehicles on their aggressiveness, as well as its protective role, but there appear no significant differences from the levels of severity of the drivers in collisions between two cars of the same category of weight. The interaction of driver age and car characteristics shows that young drivers are more sensitive to the type of vehicle driven both in terms of involvement in certain categories of accidents and in terms of growth of the seriousness with the performance of the vehicle driven; but this population is not homogeneous and the choice of a high-powered vehicle reflects specific behaviours. (A)
Samenvatting