Activity 87Fatal Accidents

Challenge: Are some types of cars more dangerous than other types?

Getting Started…

Read the introduction on page 62.

Which types of vehicles have the highest and lowest risk of being in a fatal accident??

What kinds of accidents do you think have the highest and lowest risks of fatalities??

Risk is the chance that a particular action or event could result in something unfavorable,

such as injury or death.

Doing the Activity…

Follow the procedure on page 63.

Use SS 87.1 “Ranking Fatality Risk” to help analyze the data provided.

Answer Analysis Questions 1-4 in your notebooks

Sample Responses to SS 87.1:

What were some of your limitations?Data doesn’t give information on which vehicle type is involved in more accidents, just which vehicle is most likely to lead to a fatality. Tables don’t indicate which vehicle types are better at avoiding accidents.

Data doesn’t show other accident types, such as multi-car accidents, or hitting a heavy truck, motorcycle, or pedestrian

Data is only for certain model years and types of vehicles

Data is only for accidents during certain calendar years

Data Doesn’t indicate the condition of the vehicles.

1.A. Lower-mass vehicles are often easier to

maneuver to avoid an accident

B. Cars with lower centers of mass roll over less easily than thos with higher centers of mass

C. Cars with shorter stopping distance can stop before an accident

2.

A. Very small 4-door cars are most likely to have a fatality in an accident because they have had more fatalities than any other types

B. Large 4-door cars are least likely to have a fatality in an accident because they have had fewer fatalities than any other type.

3.

A. A large pick up truck is most likely to cause a death in the other vehicle because it has the highest fatality rate in two-car collisions

B. A very small 4-door car is most likely to cause a death among its own occupants because it has the highest fatality rate in two-car collisions

4. A. Mid-sized cars have a rollover fatality rate of 0.8/BVM, less than one-fifth that of the mid-sized SUV rate of 4.4/BVM. This is most likely caused by the SUV’s higher center of mass, which makes them more likely to roll over

B. Mid-sized cars and SUV’s both have a fixed-object fatality rate of 2.6/BVM. This is most likely because they have a similar mass and inertia. The force of the crash is likely to have about the same deceleration in both vehicles. They also have similar interior size, which gives them a similar risk to injury caused by intrusion into the cabin space.