Accidents

It was 1970 when serious accident investigation began at Volvo. They wanted to determine which were safer—lap belts or “three-point” seat belts. Engineers at Volvo formed a team and studied the results of crashes where the “three-point” seat belts were in use. It’s one reason we have the seat belt design we do today. In 2017, we have teams that involve both the automakers and the National Center for Statistics and Analysis’s (NCSA) Special Crash Investigations (SCI) Program. The SCI Program has provided detailed data to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) since 1972. Every year, more than 100 crashes are chosen for study. The investigators focus on certain data points concerning the road, the vehicles, the occupants and their injuries, and the safety systems installed in the vehicles. Basically, SCI is similar to CSI; Dr. Carl Schulman, a surgeon and injury prevention specialist at the University of Miami’s William Lehman Injury Research Center, has noted that “instead of a crime scene, it’s a crash scene.” How Does the SCI Program Operate? Cases are selected by the NCSA based on what the agency believes it needs to study. These days they often want to check the performance of emerging[…..]

We like to think that we have a certain amount of control over ourselves – how we think, how we feel and how we react to the things around us. In many aspects of our personal lives, we do have control. But our subconscious minds can be much more complicated and powerful than we realize. Recent research has shed light on one way our bodies respond to traumatic events. Specifically, one study examines how children are affected physically and emotionally after being involved in a vehicle crash. Before we look at the results of this study, let’s understand how our biology is shaped by traumatic events. Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder We are hardwired to respond to certain situations in ways that are simply beyond our control. Consider the reflex test that doctors give you, the test where they strike below your knee and your leg goes flying without any direction from your conscious mind. Likewise, our minds are conditioned by the experiences we’ve had and our brains then use certain defense mechanisms to protect us from future harm. Post-traumatic stress disorder is like the response we have to the reflex test. Built into our biology is a system that responds[…..]

For decades, drunk driving-related crashes consistently accounted for around half of all traffic fatalities in the United States. Even though we had the technology to detect the presence of alcohol in a driver’s system since the 1930s, and even though several studies had been conducted about the dangers of driver impairment on our roads, there seemed to be little will among legislators to pass any meaningful laws to address the problem. For nearly 60 years, drunk driving rates held firm. In 1980, this meant that around 25,000 lives were lost because of impaired drivers. To put it another way — 25,000 families lost a loved one because of drunk driving. It was in 1980 that a group of mothers decided to do something about it, and they succeeded where so many before them had fallen short. Led by Candace Lightner, the mother of drunk driving victim Cari, these mothers became tireless advocates for what is perhaps the most important movement in the history of road safety in America. Mothers Against Drunk Driving was born out of tragedy, but it paved the way for legislation and safety awareness campaigns that have made every American safer. MADD is a testament to our[…..]

In late November, 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) put forward guidelines meant to deal with the problem of driver distraction due to portable electronic devices in vehicles, including mobile devices such as smartphones. The announcement revealed the second phase of the NHTSA’s voluntary guidelines. The first phase addressed systems or devices that were already built into vehicles. These guidelines are meant for manufacturers, not drivers, in order to encourage the implementation of features such as “Driver Mode”—a simplified interface that would help users who might be on the road. Driver Mode would have both an automatic option and a manual option; automatic would mean the device would start Driver Mode if the device detected it was being used by the driver. Driver Mode would not activate when a non-driver was using the device. Another functionality that the NHTSA would like to see implemented includes pairing, where a portable device links to the vehicle’s infotainment system. In the press release, the NHTSA said, “Both pairing and Driver Mode will reduce the potential for unsafe driver distraction by limiting the time a driver’s eyes are off the road, while at the same time preserving the[…..]

In October, 2016, the federal government set a goal of completely eliminating traffic deaths and injuries in the U.S. by 2046. Officials in the Department of Transportation revealed a plan that focuses on increasing seat belt usage; campaigns against drunken, drugged, and distracted driving; and increases the use of rumble strips (strips across the road that use vibration and rumbling to alert a driver of road changes or hazards). The Department’s statement claimed that various technologies, including self-driving cars, will make it possible for the goal to be accomplished relatively quickly. Fully-autonomous vehicles, it is believed, could potentially eliminate all human error, which contributes to 94 percent of all crashes. Eliminating all, or almost all, traffic deaths and injuries through technology sounds awfully good, doesn’t it? Hold on for a minute. The Transportation Department’s plan came about because of a 7.2 percent jump in traffic fatalities in 2015, the biggest annual percentage increase in 50 years. And, if you think that increase is upsetting, hear this: In the first six months of 2016 alone, highway deaths surged 10.4 percent over the same time period in 2015. And supposedly it’s mainly because of apps on smartphones, such as Snapchat (the cause[…..]