INTERDISCIPLINARY ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION AT THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT

ACCIDENT CAUSES, ACCIDENT OCCURENCE AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES ARE TO BE ANALYSED BY MEANS OF A COMPREHENSIVE INVESTIGATION METHOD AT THE SCENE OF THE ACCIDENT. THE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION TEAM CONSISTS OF A QUALIFIED ENGINEER AND TWO SCIENTIFICALLY TRAINED ASSISTANTS. THE EQUIPMENT CONSISTS OF TWO MOTOR VEHICLES, BOTH EQUIPPED WITH RADIO SETS, A BLUE FLASHING LIGHT AND AN ELECTRICALLY OPERATED HORN. A STEREOSCOPIC MEASURING CHAMBER IS BUILT INTO THE TECHNICIANS CAR. THE STUDY INCLUDES ACCIDENTS INVOLVING PRIVATE VEHICLES AND PERSONAL INJURY. EXCLUDED ARE (1) ACCIDENTS RESULTING IN SLIGHT PERSONAL INJURY AND DAMAGE TO PROPERTY, FOR WHICH NO STATEMENTS RELATING TO THE AIM OF THE CONCEPT CAN BE EXPECTED AND (2) ACCIDENTS FOR WHICH TWO OF THE THREE PROGRAMMES (MEDICAL - PSYCHOLOGICAL - TECHNICAL) ARE EITHER INAPPLICABLE OR APPLICABLE ONLY AFTER UNWARRANTED EXPENDITURE. THE ASSIMILATED DATA ARE CLASSIFIED INTO THREE GROUPS: (1) MEDICAL DATA, INCLUDING THE INITIAL EXAMINATION AT THE SCENE OF THE ACCIDENT AND INJURIES, (2) PSYCHOLOGICAL DATA: PERSONALITY, ACCIDENT OCCURENCE, JOURNEY DATA, ETC (3) TECHNICAL DATA E.G. PARTICULARS PERTAINING TO THE MOTOR VEHICLE AND MARKS ON THE ROAD. ASPECTS RELEVANT TO THE RESPECTIVE CLASSIFICATIONS ARE DESCRIBED SEPARATELY. THE INITIAL RESULTS OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT ESTABLISHES THAT ONLY 36% OF ACCIDENT CAUSES CAN BE ELIMINATED OR REDUCED, AND THE REMAINING 64% DEPEND ON FACTORS RELATED TO HUMAN ERROR WHICH ARE IMPOSSIBLE OR DIFFICULT TO ERADICATE. ANALYSIS OF PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS SHOWS THAT THE MOST SEVERE TYPES OF INJURY RESULT FROM BEING STRUCK BY A CAR RATHER THAN FROM HITTING THE GROUND. IN ADDITION, INJURY SEVERITY IN THE CASE OF CHASSIS DESIGNS WITH A QUARTER OF AN ELLIPSE (VW. BEETLE) IS LESS THAN IN THE CASE OF OTHER DESIGNS.