Estimating the Injury-Reducing Benefits of Ejection-Mitigating Glazing

摘要

The Advanced Glazing Project of NHTSA is an initiative aimed at reducing thenumber of fatalities and serious injuries in motor vehicle crashes due to ejection. The objective is to determine whether advanced ejection-mitigating glazing in passenger cars, light trucks, and vans would result in substantial benefits in terms of fatality and injury reductions. As part of the project, it was necessary to estimate the numbers of lives saved and serious injuries prevented when ejection is eliminated. The report describes the statistical analysis performed to obtain such estimates. The analysis utilized state data files maintained by NCSA. The results show dramatically lower fatality rates among non-ejected occupants compared with those ejected ones in the same crash, and substantially lower incapacitating injury rates. The relative risk of fatality of ejected to non-ejected individuals in all ejection crashes is 3.55 for drivers and 3.15 for front seat passengers, which translates into 72 percent and 68 percent reductions in fatalities when ejection is eliminated, respectively.