Statistical Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108: Side Marker Lamps (Only)

摘要

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of FMVSS 108 side marker lamp requirements in reducting the frequency of angle collision accidents occurring during periods of reduced visibility. This required an analysis of subsets of mass accident data consisting of side collisions between two passenger vehicles approaching at an angle, occurring either at an intersection or driveway access. Evaluative statistics were based upon 98,811 accidents in Texas (1972, 1973 and 1974), 17,566 accidents in New York (1974), and 19,709 accidents in Noth Carolina (1973, 1974 and 1975). Contingency table data were subjected to log-linear modeling and adjustment to minimize potential confounding effects and to allow for direct comparison of angle collision frequencies between various lighting conditions and Pre- and Post-Standard configurations of vehicles. Single vehicle accidents were used as a control group to compensate for potentially different reduced light exposure risks for Pre- and Post-Standard passenger vehicles.