Travel speed and the risk of serious injury in vehicle crashes.

While there is a large quantity of prior research on speed and road safety, no previous studies have quantified the absolute risk of serious injury in a crash relative to travel speed. This study aimed to produce risk curves that relate travel speed to the risk of serious injury in light vehicle impacts in order to contribute to the process of selecting acceptable travel speeds. Serious injury was defined in this study as any injury having a maximum abbreviated injury scale (MAIS) of three or greater, or a fatal injury (MAIS3+F).

Impact speed and the risk of serious injury in vehicle crashes.

The current guiding philosophies in road safety have stated aims of zero deaths and serious injuries. Speed has previously been highlighted as a key factor in the outcome of a crash but the literature to date has yet to provide a robust relationship between impact speed and the risk of serious injury for crashes other than pedestrian crashes. This study aimed to determine the relationship between impact speed and the risk of serious injury in light vehicle crashes.

Safe speed limits for a safe system: The relationship between speed limit and fatal crash rate for different crash types.

Objective: The objective of this article is to provide empirical evidence for safe speed limits that will meet the objectives of the Safe System by examining the relationship between speed limit and injury severity for different crash types, using police-reported crash data.

Method: Police-reported crashes from 2 Australian jurisdictions were used to calculate a fatal crash rate by speed limit and crash type. Example safe speed limits were defined using threshold risk levels.

The real-world safety potential of connected vehicle technology.

Objective: This article estimates the safety potential of a current commercially available connected vehicle technology in real-world crashes.

Method: Data from the Centre for Automotive Safety Research's at-scene in-depth crash investigations in South Australia were used to simulate the circumstances of real-world crashes. A total of 89 crashes were selected for inclusion in the study.