Automobile Crashes Are Not Accidents
AUTOMOBILE CRASHES ARE NOT ACCIDENTS Vehicle accidents have been occurring since the first rider fell off his horse, two chariots collided in the Rome streets, or the first motorized vehicles collided in an American street. It was not until August 11, 1997 that the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration decided that "Crashes are not Accidents." Motor vehicle crashes and injuries are predictable and preventable events. "Since we can identify the causes of crashes, we can take action to alter the effect, and avoid collisions. These events are not "acts of God" but predictable results of the laws of physics. The use of the term "Accident" promotes the concept that these events (that is, accidents) are outside of human influence or control. Since "Crashes Aren't Accidents," the NHTSA Traffic Safety Program Campaign of 1997 was initiated with the removal of "Accident" from the NHTSA vocabulary and any media or public NHTSA discussion of unintentional highway injuries. Instead of "accident" the use of terms such as "crash," "collision," "incident," and "injury" was encouraged, since "Crashes Aren't Accidents." There is an article "'Crashes Aren't Accidents'" Campaign" by Pamela Anikeeff, NHTSA Now, V. 3, No. 11, August 11, 1997 pages 1-2, found on the NHTSA Now archival website at ( http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/announce/NhtsaNow/Archive/1997/v3.11/ ). What does it mean that crashes are not accidents? The answer to the questions: Why is an automobile crash is not an accident? and Why are vehicle Accidents not accidents? did not come until 2003. Read on.
ERRORS & AUTOPSY OF A VEHICLE CRASH Autopsy, which translates literally into self + visible, is the thorough examination of an occurrence or event which reveals its reason(s) and cause(s). Since this author is not a vehicle crash specialist, an autopsy (of a crash) will not be performed, but we can discuss the reasons and causes to be considered in a vehicle crash. Some drivers involved in crashes are innocent victims, but "driver error is cited as the principal cause of from 45 to 75 percent of crashes." Even though the degree of driver error in crashes may vary, over 90 percent of all crashes include driver error as a contributing factor. Also, driver error is the primary causal factor in almost half of all crashes. As a coroner dissects the corpse, the "crash incident" researcher dissects the vehicle crash. The latter examines the "traffic event" identifies the errors, analyzes them, and determines to what degree the driver and the environment exhibit correctable or uncorrectable errors. "Table 1- Overview of driver error and incident causation factors," has four categories. I-Human Conditions and States such as A. Physical/Psychological, B. Mental/Educational, and C. Experience/Exposure; II -Human Direct Causes, such as A. Recognition Errors, B. Decision Errors, and C. Performance Errors. III -Environmental Factors include A. Highway Related, and B. Ambient Conditions; and IV -Vehicular Factors. The crash coroners who examine the vehicles and crash site will develop driver error taxonomies to determine the causes of the identified human and vehicle errors. These researchers will support the use of this analysis in future studies of vehicle crashes, and make recommendations for improvements in highway design and traffic control devices to correct environmental errors. Identification and Evaluation of Driver Errors: Overview and Recommendations, Final Report for research done from September 1997 to September 2001, by W. W. Wierwille, R.J. Hanowski, J.M. Hankey, (and 5 others), was issued in August, 2002 as Federal Highway Administration Report FHWA-RD-02-003. It is a 321 page report available in some Depository Libraries under TD 2.30:02-003.
