SUVs Responsible for More Pedestrian Deaths; Rowan Engineering Research Reveals Vehicles' Threat
GLASSBORO,
N.J., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Pedestrians struck by light trucks
and vans (LTVs), including sports utility vehicles (SUVs), suffer
a higher fatality rate than those struck by a traditional passenger
car, according to research conducted by Dr. Clay Gabler, a Mechanical
Engineering professor at Rowan University, Glassboro, N.J., and
2000 (B.S.) and 2001 (M.S.) Rowan graduate Devon Lefler.
Gabler and
Lefler's work -- "The Fatality and Injury Risk of Light Truck
Impacts with Pedestrians in the United States" -- recently
was published in Accident Analysis & Prevention.
While previous
studies indicated collisions between LTVs/SUVs and cars showed
greater threats to car passengers (car passengers suffered 81
percent of fatalities), the risk to pedestrians in accidents as
a function of vehicle body type for cars, light trucks and vans
in the United States had not been explored.
Gabler and
Lefler analyzed United States traffic accident statistics involving
SUVs, pickup trucks, full-sized vans and minivans from the Fatality
Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the National Automotive Sampling
System (NASS) General Sampling System and NASS Pedestrian Crash
Data Study (PCDS).
In analyzing
pedestrian fatality trends, the team reviewed FARS figures from
1991 to 2000. While the number of fatalities dropped 18 percent
over that timeframe, the decrease was attributed to the outcome
of cars striking pedestrians. In car-pedestrian accidents, the
fatality rate dropped 32 percent from 1991 to 2000. However, deaths
increased 10 percent during the same time in accidents that involved
LTVs. The team's research discovered that for every 1,000 accidents,
45 people died when struck by a car or minivan while 133 died
when struck by a large van, the study vehicle with the worst history.
"A pedestrian
struck by a van is nearly three times more likely to suffer fatal
injury than a pedestrian struck by a car. Pedestrians struck by
large SUVs are twice as likely to die as pedestrians struck by
cars," Gabler and Lefler reported.
The researchers
believe that the mass of a vehicle may not be the controlling
factor in the outcomes, even though LTVs are much heavier than
cars. They determined that other design factors might affect the
outcome in an accident. Based on an analysis of the PCDS database,
they found that pedestrians struck by LTVs had a higher probability
of serious head, chest and lower extremity injuries, including
fatal injuries, than those struck by a passenger car. Their examination
of injury patterns verified that the front shape of a vehicle,
as well as impact speed, is a dominant factor in predicting injury
or death.
(Gabler, who
earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from
Princeton University, served as a research program manager at
the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. He is
an internationally recognized expert in vehicle crash safety and
has published more than 25 technical papers on subjects including
vehicle crashworthiness, vehicle-to- roadside safety hardware
interactions and crash compatibility.
Source:
Rowan University
