-Collisions with roadside structures cause more deaths and higher fatality rates-
The number of deaths, seriously injured and slightly injured, as well as the number of accidents and the fatality rates for all car* occupants involved in traffic accidents in 2008 are shown in Table 2 for each type of accident.
Fatality rate (%) = Number of fatalities / (Number of fatalities + Number of seriously injured + Number of slightly injured) × 100
Accident types include single-vehicle collisions with roadside structures, vehicle-to-vehicle head-on collisions, crossing collisions and rear-end collisions.
Table 2 shows that colliding with roadside structures involves the largest number of deaths (508), accounting for 30% of the total 1,710 killed while in the car. Vehicle-to-vehicle head-on collisions follow with almost the same number of deaths at 494. On the other hand, the recorded 13,834 collisions with roadside structures account for only 2% of the total 676,713 accidents involving car occupants. This means that collisions with roadside structures are more likely to result in death despite the low incidence.
Looking at the fatality rates as an index of accident severity, this type of accident again represents the highest rate at 2.9%, which is almost ten times more than the average (0.3%) for all car occupants involved in traffic accidents.
This also means that car occupants tend to suffer severe injury once the car crashes into a roadside structure.
A vehicle collides with a roadside structure when it fails to stay within the roadway, as all kinds of structures are installed on roads and roadsides. In the following section, we will examine car crashes in relation to each kind of structure.
* "Car" refers to passenger cars, trucks, and special-purpose vehicles.
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