Question about crash statistics

Joh

New member
This is more a matter of curiosity, but I was wondering if there is a breakdown anywhere of the crash statistics that are used to get the "500% safer rear-facing" quote. The reason I ask is that I have my 2 year old rear-facing still, but I sometimes wonder about the fact that in the ten years I have been driving in Los Angeles, I have been rear-ended 3 times, but never had a frontal crash. I was curious if this is just an oddity, or if it is somehow representative of the type of driving we do here (mainly freeways). I understand that generally the impacts are greater in frontal crashes, so ERF is still the best thing to do, but I'm curious if urban driving leads to different crash statistics than everywhere else. Or maybe it's just that LA drivers are incredibly bad ;)
 
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Qarin

New member
This isn't really an answer to your question, but I want to point out that every time you were rear-ended, someone else was in a frontal collision.
 

Evolily

New member
Yep, ever rear ended is also a frontal crash. But most of these crashes are mild, since both vehicles are usually traveling in the same direction and/or at slow speeds. The statics I have seen (no, I have none on hand) are relatively recent- the driving environment you have in LA is likely similar to the driving environment in other metro areas (although, perhaps, a bit worse- however I've encountered lots of crazy driving in and around Chicago). Since the bulk of the population lives in cities and suburbs, well, lots of people encounter these driving conditions on a relatively regular basis.
 

southpawboston

New member
i have the study on my home computer that shows the 4-5 fold increase in safety of RF versus FF (i can email it to anyone who PMs me).

but the big surprise is that that 4-5 fold increase in safety is not for frontal impacts, but for side impacts. everyone here gets so hung up on watching crash test videos of necks lurching forward in FF seats and think "OMG!!, i can see why RF is so much safer, just look at those poor necks!", but the actual crash statistics (which trump videos and emotional conclusions IMHO) show minimal statistical difference in safety between RF and FF in frontal impacts after a certain age (i think 1 or 2 yo, but don't quote me ;)). no, the big surprise is that ERFing provides the biggest benefit (the 4-5 fold number that is so often mentioned here) for children above 2 yo in reduction of side impact injuries.

this is why i'm so much more hung up on SIP seats than the majority here, despite the lack of testing regulation and requirements in this regard.
 

Joh

New member
Thanks Southpawboston, very interesting! I will PM you, I'd love to see the breakdown. I'm also glad I bought SIP seats :)
 

Melizerd

New member
The thing that's hard to remember is that a rear-impact collision is NOT the opposite of a frontal-impact. It seems like it would be, I know, but the opposite of a frontal-impact would be if you were backing up and hit something. Since we usually don't back up at speeds greater than 5mph, even that is not going to create a risk for RF children.

To clarify - in a frontal impact, the vehicle's forward-motion is stopped by the crash.

In a rear-impact, the vehicle is usually stopped, sometimes moving forward. Crash dynamics are going to be complicated, depending on a huge number of variables - the speed (if any) of your vehicle, the speed of the vehicle hitting you, whether or not the impact causes your vehicle to hit something in front of you, etc. In any case, there are going to be forces exerted from both the front and the back.

In a backing-up crash, the vehicle's rearward-motion is stopped by the crash, which is what makes it the opposite of a forward-impact.


I love Defrost's post. It makes the most sense to me :thumbsup:
 

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