Prevent Ejection

To the regular readers of my Blog, “The Tennessee Auto Accident Attorney“, know that I am a statistics Wog. I believe that when Tennessee drivers see the numbers behind traffic deaths and serious injury accidents that they are more than likely to change their driving habits. Thus, the goal of my Blog is to give you those numbers in the hope that you will pass them on to your friends and family. I have regularly written about the benefits of using your seat belts to prevent ejection during a Tennessee traffic accident. The following data is just in from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Restraint use is clearly designed to reduce injury severity and prevent occupants from being ejected from their vehicles. This data provides examples of the benefits of restraint use with regard to its relationship with ejection status and injury severity, and examines many other factors and their impact on the likelihood that a passenger vehicle occupant in a fatal crash will be ejected. Factors examined include vehicle model year, speed limit at the location of the crash, rollover status, vehicle type, occupant age, and seat position.

Among fatal crashes involving passenger vehicles of model year (MY) 1985 through 1998, almost 15 percent of the passenger vehicle occupants were partially or totally ejected.  Among newer passenger vehicles starting with MY 1999, this percentage declined with later model year vehicles, down to 9.8 percent of the MY 2005 and later vehicles.  Among SUVs of MY 1989 through 1998, a higher 21 to 24 percent of the SUV occupants in fatal crashes were ejected.

Starting with MY 1999, this ejection percentage experienced a steeper decline as the model year of the vehicle became more recent.  The percentage ejected dropped to as low as 9.9 percent of the SUVs of MY 2005 and later. The corresponding decline was also large among vans, from 15 percent for vans of MY 1993 down to 8.0 percent for MY 2005 and later.  The decline was less steep among passenger cars, dropping from around 11-12 percent among MY 1986 through 2000, down to around 9.0 percent among MY 2005 or later.

The gradual decline among pickups was from around 18-22 percent up to MY 1994, down to 12.7 percent among MY 2005 or later. Among newer model year passenger vehicles, there has been a decline in the percentage of occupants who are in single-vehicle crashes, as well as the percentage of occupants that are in roadway departure crashes. Another trend among newer model year vehicles is the increase in restraint use among the occupants.

These trends are associated with the reduction in the percentage of passenger vehicle occupants ejected among newer model year vehicles  Occupants of passenger cars, pickups, and SUVs were more than 4 times as likely to be ejected when in single-vehicle fatal crashes versus when in a multivehicle fatal crashes.  Van occupants were approximately 3 1/2 times more likely to be ejected when in single-vehicle fatal crashes compared to multivehicle fatal crashes.  In single-vehicle fatal crashes, SUVs and pickups had more than 30 percent of their occupants ejected.

The percentage of occupants who were ejected was roughly twice as high when the speed limit was 60 mph or higher (18.6%) versus when the speed limit was 40 mph or less (9.6%).  When the road had “no statutory limit,” the percentage of occupants who were ejected was highest, at 23.5 percent. Overall, only 2.0 percent of passenger vehicle occupants who were restrained were ejected from their vehicles, while 35.3 percent of unrestrained occupants were ejected.

Among the occupants who were ejected from their passenger vehicles during fatal crashes, more than 10 times as many unrestrained occupants were ejected compared to restrained occupants.  Passenger vehicle occupants in fatal crashes who were ejected from their vehicles were 2.3 times as likely to be fatally injured compared to passenger vehicle occupants who remained inside their vehicles. Over three-quarters of the passenger vehicle occupants who were ejected in fatal crashes were not able to survive the crashes. More than 70 percent of the passenger vehicle occupants who were ejected in fatal crashes were involved in rollovers.

Just imagine yourself getting into a traffic accident and you are being ejected from the vehicle and you are flying, at a high rate of speed, toward a bridge support made out of solid concrete which is eight feet in diameter. Your out of control body is moving through space at about 35 mph or faster when you hit the concrete. Try this imagination exercise every time you get into your car just before you start the ignition.

If you have any questions about Tennessee driving safety or if you or a member of your family is involved in a Tennessee automobile accident contact the experienced Tennessee personal injury automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.