The accident and injury risk figures for the most common car models have been gathered into the chart in this brochure. The data is based on 225,943 traffic accidents caused by drivers of 64 passenger car models and compensated by compulsory Motor Liability Insurance for the years 1987- 1992. The injury information is part of that data consisting of 126,917 two passenger car collisions in built-up areas, where 7,940 drivers Were injured. Altogether 443,522 passenger car accidents were compensated during this period in Finland. The chance of different car models becoming involved in an accident varies because of differences in driver distributions, in driving mileages, in crash speeds and in driving environments as well as in the characteristics and road handling abilities of the cars themselves. Because the effect of a car model on accident involvement cannot be determined directly from the number of accidents, the Road and Transport Laboratory of University of Oulu created a regression model, which takes into account the diversity of drivers ages, of driving mileages, and of driving environments. The resulting Car Model Accident Classification in the chart can be interpreted broadly as the effect of the car model on accident involvement including also the effect of the car model on the driver. Correspondingly, by means of the Driver Injury Classification, the effect of driver's age and gender on the risk of injury has been taken into account in the case car. The crash speed variation has been taken into account by presenting the injury risk figures of accidents, which have occurred in build-up areas. The figures in the chart demonstrate clear differences between car models. We hope that the results will provide general safety information when it comes to choosing a car model. In general, the research shows that, if the passive safety of the car models in a similar weight class were as good as the best one, there would be 27 percent fewer injured drivers in two-car collisions in builtup areas. The wide variation in crashworthiness between cars justifies the necessity of establishing minimum safety standards for secondary safety. (Author/publisher)
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