Which is more common? Side impact or Frontal impact collisions?

ADS

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
Frontal is the most common. Someone around here has a handy car graphic illustrating collision type stats and could probably post it for us. :)
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Interesting Wikipedia..this is from a NHTSA page that the link is broken, though.. (and why the rear impacts don't also get measured as front impacts confuses me, unless people are backing into each other, but what do I know? lol)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_accident

Common types of collision
Crashes are categorized by what is struck and the direction of impact, or impacts. These are some common crash types, based on the total number that occurred in the U.S.A. in 2005, the percentage of total crashes, and the percentage of fatal crashes: [41]
Rear impacts (1,824,000 crashes, 29.6% of all US crashes, 5.4 % of US fatal crashes)
Angle or side impacts (1,779,000 crashes, 28.9% of all US crashes, 20.7% of US fatal crashes)
Fixed-object crashes (992,000 crashes, 16.1% of US crashes, 31.7% of US fatal crashes)
Collisions with animals (275,000 crashes, 4.5% of US crashes, 0.4% of fatal crashes)
Rollovers (141,000 crashes, 2.3% of all US crashes, 10.9% of US fatal crashes)
Head-on collision (123,000 crashes, only 2.0% of all US crashes, but 10.1% of US fatal crashes)
Collisions with pedestrians and bicyclists (114,000 crashes, only 1.8% of US crashes, but 13.5% of US fatal crashes)
Back-up collisions
Note that rollover, head-on, pedestrian and bicyclist crashes combined are only 6.1% of all crashes, but 34.5% of fatal crashes. Since these crashes tend to be severe, preventing them is a high priority for traffic safety officials.
Sometimes the vehicles in the collision can suffer more than one type of impact, such as during a shunt or high-speed spin. This is called a "second harmful event," such as when a vehicle is redirected by the first crash into another vehicle or fixed object.
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
Head-on crash fatalities seem to be quite low compared to what FARS reports.

My understanding is that crashes are counted as "type" of crash, a frontal, offset, rear-ender. A head-on doesn't get reported twice, once for each vehicle, just as a rear-ender doesn't count as one frontal and one rear.

Also, never trust what you read on Wikpedia;-) I wish the link the author cited for those stats actually worked. I'll stick with FARS.
 

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Forum statistics

Threads
219,656
Messages
2,196,896
Members
13,530
Latest member
onehitko860

You must read your carseat and vehicle owner’s manual and understand any relevant state laws. These are the rules you must follow to restrain your children safely. All opinions at Car-Seat.Org are those of the individual author for informational purposes only, and do not necessarily reflect any policy or position of Carseat Media LLC. Car-Seat.Org makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. If you are unsure about information provided to you, please visit a local certified technician. Before posting or using our website you must read and agree to our TERMS.

Graco is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Britax is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Nuna Baby is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org!

Please  Support Car-Seat.Org  with your purchases of infant, convertible, combination and boosters seats from our premier sponsors above.
Shop travel systems, strollers and baby gear from Britax, Chicco, Clek, Combi, Evenflo, First Years, Graco, Maxi-Cosi, Nuna, Safety 1st, Diono & more! ©2001-2022 Carseat Media LLC

Top