Automobile Crashworthiness and Its Relation to Auto Accidents

There is an auto accident on United States roadways every ten seconds. In 2001 alone, almost two million Americans suffered an injury related to a vehicle crash. Negligent drivers can cause accidents, but crashes may also result from some design, manufacturing, or installation defect of a vehicle component. Defective tires, seatbelts, roof structure, brakes, and most parts of a vehicle can cause or contribute to an auto accident if these components are defective in any way. The term "automobile crashworthiness" relates to claims stemming from defective automobiles leading to car accidents.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) research shows that the major causes of injury inside a vehicle during a collision are, in descending order: steering wheel, instrument panel, doors, windshield, front roof pillar, glove box area, roof edges, and the roof itself. It is not surprising, then, that front-seat passengers are more likely to be injured in an auto accident than rear-seat passengers who are protected by the padding of the front seat backs.

NHTSA data also shows that 51 percent of motor vehicle deaths occur in head-on impacts, 27 percent in side impacts, and only 4 percent in rear impacts. Rollovers, however, are particularly lethal because they are more likely to eject unrestrained passengers from the vehicle than other types of collisions. Fatality rates are 25 times higher for ejected passengers than for those who remain in the vehicle.

When an

Peter Kent is the best-selling author of 50 books and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles.