Centre for Automotive Safety Research reports

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Browsing Centre for Automotive Safety Research reports by Author "Aust, H. S."

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    Adelaide in-depth accident study 1975-1979. Part 5: Commercial vehicle accidents
    (Road Accident Research Unit, 1979) McLean, Jack; Aust, H. S.; Sandow, B. L.; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
    This report deals with accidents involving trucks, vans, buses and multi-purpose vehicles, not all of which were being used as commercial vehicles. There were relatively few single vehicle accidents, apart from those involving pedestrians, and the reluctance of semitrailer drivers to brake hard at s~gnalisedin tersections and insecure loads of some heavy vehicles distinguished these accidents from those involving only passenger cars. All but one of the drivers of these commercial vehicles were males, most of whom were aged between 20 and 50 years. None of these drivers were affected by alcohol intoxication to a significant degree, nor was fatigue a factor in any of these accidents. Although none of the commercial vehicle occupants was severely injured, the provision and use of seat belts may have avoided many of the injuries which did occur. Some multi-purpose passenger vehicles are deficient, when compared to passenger cars, in terms of protecting their occupants from injury in a crash.
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    Adelaide in-depth accident study 1975-1979. Part 6: Car accidents.
    (Road Accident Research Unit, 1981) McLean, Jack; Aust, H. S.; Brewer, N. D.; Sandow, B. L.; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
    This report contains descriptions of the causes and consequences of the accidents involving cars in a representative sample of road traffic accidents to which an ambulance was called in metropolitan Adelaide. The characteristics of the drivers are reviewed in relation to the causation of these accidents and to accident prevention measures in general and the role of vehicle factors in accident and injury causation is discussed with emphasis on the Australian Design Rules for Motor Vehicle Safety. Two hundred and sixtytwo, or 86 per cent of the accidents in the survey involved one or more cars. Alcohol intoxication and inexperience in driving in traffic were the two characteristics of drivers that were most often obviously related to accident involvement. Vehicle defects played only a minor role. Seat belts were found to reduce the frequency and severity of injury; this was particularly so for the later inertia-reel belts which were also more likely to be worn. Seventy-nine per cent of drivers and 65 per cent of left front passengers wore a seat belt where one was available. Door latches and hinges, seat anchorages, and the steering wheel and instrument panel were either deficient in the crash or otherwise were frequently found to be objects causing injury to the occupants of the car.