The largest percentage of fatalities occur in the younger age ranges, with young males predominating. Driver training is of importance but the technics of measuring the effectiveness of training need to be improved. Drivers may be influenced by personal and emotional maladjustments, and the role of excessive drinking is particularly important. Much remains to be done for an understanding of the role of disease and illness in automobile accidents, and more reliable criteria for disqualification are urgently needed for licensing authorities. The design of highways leaves much to be desired in elimination of accidents resulting from human errors, and the influence of poor lighting appears to be of great importance. Studies of the sequence of events in vehicular crashes are being used to improve design of automobile interiors. Patterns of injury are emerging in relation to the seat occupied in the car and the interior structures hit by the body. Multiple injuries are most likely, the head being most vulnerable. Injuries to the face are most common, and bone damage to the middle part of the face is a complicated and often misinterpreted injury.
Samenvatting