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One of the most comprehensive analyses of accident causation in thirty years suggests that focus on speed limit enforcement may be misplaced.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) analyzed 5,471 injury accidents that occurred across the United States from July 3, 2005 to December 31, 2007. Researchers were sent to accident scenes before they were cleared to collect data, which is unlike previous studies that automatically generated computerized data found in police reports. This approach to data collection allowed a first-hand comparison of physical evidence by directly interviewing witnesses and others involved in the accident. This data was reviewed to determine factors that are most often linked to crashes.
The report explained that "The critical reason is determined by a thorough evaluation of all the potential problems related to errors attributable to the driver, the condition of the vehicle, failure of vehicle systems, adverse environmental conditions, and roadway design. The critical pre-crash event refers to the action or the event that puts a vehicle on the course that makes the collision unavoidable, given reasonable driving skills and vehicle handling of the driver."
Researchers found that vehicles “traveling too fast for conditions” only accounted for about five percent of the critical pre-crash events. Some of the more substantial elements involved in crashes included 22 percent driving off the edge of a road and 11 percent who drifted over the center dividing line.
The study also found that when driver error was the main cause of an accident, distraction and driver inattention accounted for 41 percent of these errors.
The NHTSA findings were very similar to crash statistics provided by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. The state agency found that “speed too fast” as a driver error only caused about 2.9 percent of the crashes in 2007. More crashes were caused by drivers falling asleep or becoming ill. Bad weather, such as fog, rain and snow, accounted for 14.6 percent of the accidents.
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