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Journal Article

Citation

Nolan JM, Karush S. J. Australas. Coll. Road Saf. 2014; 25(2): 49-52.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Australasian College of Road Safety)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In the nearly 20 years since the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) began publishing crashworthiness ratings for consumer information, great progress has been made in reducing the toll from motor vehicle crashes in the United States. The drop in deaths and injuries during that time continued a trend that began in the 1970's. Along with important changes in people's behaviour spurred by cultural and legislative shifts - notably a reduction in alcohol- impaired driving and wider use of seat belts - the improved safety of vehicles has been a key factor in this drop. When we look at the crash statistics and compare the vehicles being sold today with those of just a few decades ago, the United States appears to be sailing inevitably toward the goal of zero fatalities. The crash death rate per capita has fallen by almost half since 1975 and the fatality rate per billion miles travelled went from 34 in 1975 to 11 in 2012 [1]. Frontal and side airbags, as well as electronic stability control, are now virtually universal in new passenger vehicles and systems capable of stopping some crashes altogether are rapidly spreading. Autonomous driving is coming in the not-too-distant future, with the technological groundwork already laid. But the destination of near-zero fatalities is a lot farther than it appears when looking out from the bow of the highway safety ship. It will take a lot of work to move the ship in the right direction over the long journey.


Language: en

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