Road collision types
However, the root cause sometimes lies in a steering overcorrection after veering to the side of the road as opposed to the centre.
Cable barriers are the most forgiving and the least expensive to install, but have high life-cycle costs due to repair needs after crashes.
[7] Much cheaper collision reduction methods are to improve road markings, to reduce speeds and to separate traffic with wide central hatching.
[3] Sealing of safety zones along the side of the road (also known as a hard shoulder) can also reduce the risk of head-on collisions caused by steering over-correction.
[9] Where a hard shoulder cannot be provided, a "safety edge" can reduce the chances of steering overcorrection.
This works by reducing the steering angle needed for the tire to climb up the pavement edge.
If the driver cannot correct this in time, the vehicle may veer into oncoming traffic, or off the opposite side of the road.
In such a situation, a pedestrian is struck by a car front; for instance, the bumper touches either the leg or knee-joint area; then, the lower part of the body is accelerated forward, while the upper part of the body rotates and accelerates to the car; this will likely cause damage to pelvis and thorax.
[12] From 2008 to 2017, pedestrian deaths resulting from vehicle collisions rose 35%, though areas with Vision Zero initiatives tended to buck this trend.
[14] Some well-known fatal collision conditions in the United States include vehicle speed, urban zone, intersection absence, and night, according to the NHTSA.
[19] In the European Union, 22% of all killed on the roads are pedestrians, while this ratio varies from 11% in the Netherlands to 39% in Latvia and Romania.
[20] In Europe, the majority of victims were children and elderly persons involving "low-speed" crashes in urban and residential areas.
Common factors contributing to single-vehicle collisions include excessive speed, driver fatigue[25] and driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
[27] Some vehicles have unpredictable car handling characteristics or defects, which can increase the potential for a single-vehicle collision.
[30] In urban areas the likelihood of an intersection collision occurring is high as they typically have a higher density of junctions.
[32] Because intersection collisions often result in side-impacts, they are therefore often fatal because people are seated close to the part of the car that provides little protection.
[33] Another study in cooperation with researchers at Texas A&M University estimated that gas and convenience stores see about twenty vehicle-into-building crashes per day.
