Looking at the type of traffic accidents involving injuries and deaths in 2008 (Fig. 1), "vehicle-to-vehicle" collisions account for the largest part, with 86% of the total 770,000 accidents recorded. "Single-vehicle" accidents account for only 5% in these statistics, but the percentage goes up to 20% in the case of only accidents involving deaths (Fig. 2).
Furthermore, the fatal accident rate for single-vehicle accidents has remained high in the past 13 years from 1996 to 2008 (Fig. 3), though steadily declining, with the rate in 2008 still being 3.19%.
In this issue of ITARDA Information, we analyze the characteristics of single-vehicle accidents with a high fatality rate, as well as the typical settings in which this type of accident occurs.
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