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Researched by Elizabeth B.
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Research Summary
Car safety is being safe while inside the car to help prevent injury and death. Car accidents are when something happens and one or more cars crash causing death, damage, injury, and lawsuits.
Types
There are a lot of types of car crashes. There are rollovers where
a car is flipped onto its back or continually rolled over. These can cause
back, spinal, side, and head injury. Side impacts occur when one or more
cars hit on the passenger or driver side, which usually causes neck, shoulder
and head damage. There are also rear-enders and frontal crashes. A rear-ender
is when a car is hit from behind which can cause lower back injury and
whiplash effects that can break the neck and cause concussions. Frontal
crashes are when cars are hit from the front causing the driver and passenger
to suffer more from the hit than for other people in the car but otherwise
the crash is the same as a rear-ender.
History
Accidents started happening in the middle1920’s when cars started to
gain speed instead of going around 30. By gaining speed the drivers of
cars started to get into accidents. The year 1991 had the record lowest
amount of injury or death caused by car related accidents in the United
States. Except for that year, some states have increased; other states
have started to decrease.
After a few arguments with the carmakers of the time more and more cars started to have glass windshields, grooved tires, windshield wipers, cushioned or padded dashboards, seatbelts and other safety items. By adding these items car accident rates went down for a little while.
New Information
“According to 2002 data from the NHTSA 6.3 million car crashes have
been reported on America’s roadways in the year before. 42,815 people were
killed in these crashes, a 1.5% increase from 2001.” Traffic deaths of
kids that are under four years old dropped by 4.8% from 516 in 2001 to
491 in 2002. Also deaths’ of children ages’ four- seven dropped by about
12% from 2001 to under 500 for the first time at 477. Motor vehicle crashes
are the leading cause of death and injury for American children. An average
of 6 children 0-14 were killed and 721 were injured every day in car crashes
in 2002. According to NHSTA among those killed in crashes in 2002 were
2,542 children 15 years or younger. 1,925 of the people killed (6 out of
10 kids that die in crashes don’t have a seatbelts on) and 264,000 of those
who were injured in 2002 were inside the car. The rest were pedestrians
or bike riders.
Teenage Drivers
Teenaged Americans are the most likely to be in a car accident because
they have less experience and they tend to take more chances. NHTSA says
that those who are just staring to drive, the sixteen year olds, have a
crash rate in the U.S. that is four times larger than those who are 25-69.
Sixteen year old drivers have crash rates that are three times bigger that
that of US seventeen year olds and five times larger than eighteen year
olds but only two times larger than that of eighty five year olds. In 2002
8,984 people were killed in crashes involving young drivers ages 16-20.
Twenty five percent of young drivers killed in fatal crashes were intoxicated.
Among people of all ages, 20% of passenger deaths in 2001 occurred when
a teenager was driving.
Seatbelts and Airbags
Many states have increased the ways that they enforce the seatbelt
law. Twenty states give tickets to help promote the use of seatbelts in
their states. Fifty-nine percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed
in traffic crashes were not wearing a safety belt. So far safety
belts have prevented 11,900 fatalities and 325,000 serious injuries. If
all passengers were to wear their safety belts an additional 9,200 fatalities
and 143,000 serious injuries could be prevented annually. 73% of restrained
passengers involved in a fatal crash survived compared to 44% unrestrained.
Also adult safety belt use is the best protector of child occupant restrain
use. When all passengers are equipped with airbags it is expected that
more than 3,000 lives will be saved each year. Driver airbags reduce death
in frontal crashes by 26% for drivers wearing seatbelts and 32% for unbelted
drivers. Passenger airbags reduce deaths in frontal crashes by 14% for
passengers wearing seatbelts and 23% for unbelted passengers. The safest
place for children under 13 is in the back seat, properly restrained, and
away from the force of a deploying airbag.
Damage
When a small car is in a crash with a two or more ton larger car the
smaller car and its passengers will usually be in much worse condition
than the passengers of the larger car. The reason is because the larger
car’s passengers are higher up than those of the smaller cars. Because
of the height and weight difference between the two cars the large car
hits higher points of the small car and it also hits harder. The larger
car is mostly unaffected. Sometimes there isn’t much of the small car left
after the accident.
Distractions and Rest
A lot of the time a single car crash is caused by distractions like
phones, other people in the car, and radios. Other times the crashes are
caused by lack of sleep, which causes awareness levels to drop and response
time to lengthen. Sometimes to avoid falling asleep in the car people take
short naps at rest areas. To get the full effect of using a rest stop some
drivers sleep for up to twenty minutes. Sometimes people who know they
are going to get up earlier than usual go to sleep or bed earlier. They
do this so they can get the needed minimum four hours of sleep though more
rest is needed to be fully awake, around six hours depending on the age
of the driver.
Glare
Another cause for some single car accidents are bright headlights.
These as well as unneeded fog lights can cause a reflection effect that
shines into the eyes of drivers going the other way, the driver in front
of them, and if the reflection is bounced of the trunk or turning signals
the light comes back to the driver. Studies show that lighter color eyes
are more sensitive to the light. To avoid being “blinded by the light”
drivers avert their eyes to an angle so as to not to have the full force
of the glare in their eyes, while still not taking their eyes completely
off of the road.
Eye Check
Just as glare affects eyesight while driving so does not having your
eyes checked every couple of years depending on the age of the person.
People who are forty and under should have their eyes checked every three
years, forty-one to sixty should have their eyes checked every two years,
and sixty one and older about every year and a half.
Alcohol Affects
Alcohol affected drivers are more likely to get into an accident
than sober drivers. About 35% of alcohol related accidents happen during
the day and 65% of crashes take place between 12 a.m. and 3 in the morning.
Just like lack of sleep, drinking affects sight, awareness, and responding
time. These drivers are sometimes in accidents because the alcohol has
made them pass out or let go of the wheel for too long a time that causes
the car to swerve. Sober divers can also get into an accident sometimes
with a drunk driver. Inebriated passengers may distract them causing them
to take their eyes off of the road.
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