IN ORDER TO UPGRADE PRESENT MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS, THE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT INITIATED ITS MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT "ON THE SCENE INVESTIGATION" SINCE 1973, WITH THE PURPOSE OF COLLECTING FACTUAL DATA. THIS INVESTIGATION IS BEING CARRIED OUT BY THE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION TEAMS OF THE TRAFFIC SAFETY AND NUISANCE RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF THE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT AND JAPAN AUTOMOBILE RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN COOPERATION WITH THE NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY AND MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF JAPAN. THE REGIONS OF ISHIKAWA, SAITAMA, IBARAKI AND OKAYAMA PREFECTURES WERE SELECTED AS INVESTIGATION AREAS. PARTICULAR ACCIDENTS WERE SUBJECT TO INVESTIGATION ACCORDING TO THE FOLLOWING: (A) ASPECTS OF ACCIDENT REFLECTING ON INADEQUATE CURRENT SAFETY STANDARDS; AND (B) OCCUPANT INJURIES PRESUMABLY CAUSED BY MOTOR VEHICLE INTERIOR PARTS. EVERY YEAR APPROXIMATELY 50 CASES WERE INVESTIGATED, AND VEHICLE ACCIDENTS COVERED BY THIS INVESTIGATION UP TO 1979 CONSISTED OF VEHICLE TO VEHICLE HEAD-ON COLLISIONS (39 CASES), SIDE COLLISIONS (92 CASES), REAR-END COLLISIONS (76 CASES), SINGLE VEHICLE COLLISIONS (42 CASES) AND VEHICLE TO MOTORCYCLE, BICYCLE OR PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS (147 CASES). METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS OF THIS INVESTIGATION WILL BE PRESENTED TOGETHER WITH THE SUMMARY OF 249 CASES OF VEHICLE TO VEHICLE AND SINGLE VEHICLE TO OBJECT ACCIDENTS. FOR PASSENGER CARS AND LIGHT VANS, THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG IMPACT SPEED, VEHICLE INTERIOR PARTS/COMPONENTS AND OCCUPANT INJURIES BY THE PRINCIPAL DIRECTION OF FORCE IS DERIVED. STUDIES HAVE BEEN ALSO MADE OF EFFECTS OF INJURY REDUCTION MEASURES ACCORDING TO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EBS (EQUIVALENT BARRIER SPEED) AND OCCUPANT INJURIES, BY MEANS OF VEHICLE MODEL YEAR CLASSIFICATION. FOR THE COVERING ABSTRACT OF THE CONFERENCE SEE IRRD 802816.
Samenvatting