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There have been numerous publications on the frequency and severity of traffic accidents as effected by age. This is a recent review of the current findings. While very old drivers have increased accident rates, the impact of their accident rate on the society is small, because they drive very short distances and thus the total number of accidents in which they are involved is low. To improve the traffic accident situation the main effort has to aim the young drivers. Due to their alcohol consumption prior to driving, their reluctance to wear seat belts and the high mileage they drive, they are one of the main causes of the high accident rates. Driver education programs aimed to improve driving skill have minimal effect on accident rates. However, driver education and law enforcement programs aimed at reducing the consumption of alcohol prior to driving and encourage the usage of seat belts could contribute to a decrease in accident rates.

Speed is only one of several factors affecting the occurrence of accidents. For example, much of the German Autobahn does not have a speed limit, yet the traffic fatality rate is lower than the fatality rate for US Interstate Highways. The object of this paper was to review relevant accident data in order to establish a relationship between speed limits and accident rates, so as to facilitate a rational approach towards the setting of speed limits for the U.S. Interstate Highways. Our results indicate that the main parameters effecting traffic accidents are: (a) Road design, (b) Driver alcohol consumption, (c) Seat belt usage. Speed limits were found to have minimal effect on the traffic accidents. The evidence also indicates that separate speed limits for day-time and night-time as well as for dry road and wet road would enhance safety much more significantly than the enforcement of speed limits that are set too low.

A number of articles in professional journals and newspapers have questioned the effectiveness of supplemental air bags. The articles maintain that insurance injury claims have increased after adoption of air bag systems and thus air bags provide no net benefit. The insurance industry itself disagreed with this interpretation of its own data, but their protest is not highly publicized. The object of this paper is to shed light on the effectiveness of air bags using the National Accident Sampling System (NASS) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Our results indicated that the air bags are doing what they were designed to do, that is, to decrease the severity of injuries in major accidents. On the other hand, air bags sometimes might cause minor injuries, when no injury would have occurred without air bags. Since minor accidents are more frequent than major accidents, the frequency of injuries might increase when air bags are introduced.

An August 4, 1994 news release of the U.S. Department of Transportation [Ref. 1] states that “The National Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has determined that there is a positive relationship between scores it provides to consumers in its new car and light truck crash tests and the fatality risk in real-world crashes. ‘Consumers can use this crash test information in their purchase decisions. We are pleased that our latest analysis verifies that the information continues to provide a valid indication of the crash protection that various makes and models provide,’ said NHTSA Acting Administrator Christopher Hart.” These assertions are said to be based on an NHTSA technical report [Ref.2]. In this referenced report, however, it is stated that the “results do not guarantee that an individual make-model with low NCAP (New Car Assessment Program; the crash test) scores will necessarily have lower fatality risk than other make-models with higher NCAP scores”.

Vehicle corrosion costs the public billions of dollars each year. The severity of vehicle corrosion is strongly affected by the amount of salt to which the vehicles are exposed. The main sources of the salt causing vehicle corrosion are the atmosphere and road salting. Some geographical areas experience minimal corrosion problems, but in other areas the corrosion problems are more severe. Knowledge of the severity of corrosion in a given geographical area is important when decisions are made about corrosion prevention and when corrosion related recalls/modifications are initiated. The object of this paper is to review the existing literature on corrosiveness in various geographical areas and propose a rational corrosion severity map.

An estimate of the rate of attrition of passenger cars, needed to establish the service life expectancy of passenger cars, is of major interest whenever long range production plans are made, marketing strategies are developed, the total needs of vehicles on the roads are estimated, etc. Estimation of vehicle attrition is very complex, however, due to the lack of accurate data and the interaction of the parameters affecting attrition. In 1980 and 1985, similar studies of attrition [1,2] utilized vehicle registration data available as of July, 1979 and as of July, 1984. The object of this paper is to update the results of these papers, using the 1991 July registration data, available in May 1992. Within the scope of this paper the attrition rates of various passenger cars are compared and the effect of geographical location on the attrition rates and the change in attrition rates during the past twenty years are discussed.

The high cost of developing computer programs limits the usage of computers. While large main frame computers have libraries of frequently used mathematical and engineering programs, the users of small computers have to write most of the programs themselves, costing time and money. The object of this paper, the first in a series, is to provide programs useful for automotive engineers. Each of the programs are written in three languages: BASIC (standard), FORTRAN 77 and PL/1, and kept short to allow hand entry without much inconvenience. Within the scope of this paper the following topics are discussed: least square method to determine the best fit curve the calculation of mean, variance, standard deviation, confidence limit calculation aid to design a shaft subjected to both bending and torsion. the calculation of the centroid and second moment of inertia for rectangular, “T” and “I” shapes sorting of data

The Uniform Product Liability Act attempts to present one unified cause of action for injuries to persons and damage to property caused by products. While no state has adopted the complete text of the Act, it is indicative as a way of thinking and possible future trends. It is a valuable reading for the practicing engineers. Within the scope of this paper the summary of the Act is given.

The approximate population of passenger cars in service and the rate of attrition of that population must be known when long range production plans are made, marketing strategies are developed, the total fuel need of the vehicles on U.S. roads is estimated, etc. Estimation of population is complex due to the lack of accurate data and the interactions between the parameters affecting attrition. Various methods are available to estimate the present and future population levels of passenger cars in service. Within the scope of this paper the projected populations of various passenger cars are compared and various attrition projection methods are discussed.

This paper describes a recently developed vehicle spindle transducer that is capable of measuring the three components of the force vector and the two components of the moment vector that simultaneously act on a spindle. The transducer dimensions are 4 X 4 X 1-1/4 in (105 X 105 X 32 mm) and weighs approximately 3 lb (13.5N). It is durable and can measure with less than 4% total error. The spindle transducer fits existing suspension systems without significantly affecting vehicle geometry or dynamic response and is, therefore, the only known spindle transducer that meets all requirements for size, weight, accuracy, and strength.