|
Affiliation
|
Monash University Accident Research Centre , Monash Injury Research Institute , Monash University , Victoria , Australia. |
|
Abstract
|
OBJECTIVE: Pedestrians are amongst the most vulnerable road users in terms of their risk of serious injury when involved in a collision with a vehicle. In Australia, around 200 pedestrians are killed in road crashes annually and over 2,000 are seriously injured. The objective of the current study was to analyse pedestrian death and injury risk by body region across ten light passenger and commercial vehicle market groups in Victoria, Australia.
METHODS: This study utilised police reported crash data linked to insurance injury compensation claims data during the period 2001-2010 to determine whether pedestrian injury outcome is a function of colliding vehicle type. Logistic regression models were developed to measure the risk of pedestrian death or injury as a function of vehicle market group for four body region groupings, namely all body regions; the head, face or neck; the thorax; and the lower extremities (including pelvis).
RESULTS: Analysis focussed on head, face or neck injury found that pedestrians struck by small cars, people movers, large sports utility vehicles, vans or utility vehicles had statistically significantly higher odds of death or injury compared to large cars. When the analysis focussed on thoracic injury, it was again found that pedestrians struck by large sports utility vehicles and vans had statistically significantly higher odds of death injury compared to large cars. In particular, the odds of death or thoracic injury is 74.4% higher for large SUVs compared to large cars. Analysis focussed on lower extremity injury found no market group with statistically significant different odds of death or injury compared to large cars at the 5% level, however medium cars and vans were found to have statistically significantly lower odds of death or lower extremity injury at the 10% level.
CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the increasing popularity of vehicles such as sports utility vehicles has the potential to lead to an increase in the level of pedestrian road trauma. With the general trend towards the use of larger vehicles, the results provide validation of the importance of improved vehicle design and the incorporation of new pedestrian safety features.
Language: en |