Abstract
(1) Background: Data collection procedures allow to obtain harmonization of in-depth road accident databases. Plausibility of calculable accident-related kinematic parameters depends on the constraints imposed on calculation, making their uncertainty degree higher than the one for measurable parameters (i.e., traces, airbag activation, etc.). Uncertainty translates in information loss, making the statistics based on databases analysis less consistent. Since kinematic parameters describe the global accident dynamics, their correctness assessment has a fundamental importance; (2) Methods: the paper takes as reference data collected in the Initiative for the GLobal harmonisation of Accident Data (IGLAD) database for vehicle-to-vehicle crashes. The procedure, however, has general nature and applies identically for other databases and multiple impacts between vehicles. To highlight issues which can arise in accident-related data collection, 3 different checks are proposed for parameters correctness assessment; (3) Results: by 4 examples, 1 with correct and 3 with incorrect parameters reported, the paper demonstrates that errors can go beyond simple calculation uncertainty, implying that a deeper analysis is desirable in data collection; (4) Conclusions: the step-by-step guidelines described in this paper will help in increasing goodness of collected data, providing for a methodology which can be used by each individual involved in accident data collection, both for collection itself and subsequent verification analysis.
Highlights
A road accident is commonly the result of many factors, circumstances and conditions which must be simultaneously present to create that specific event
The method for cross examination is based on conservation of momentum, the velocity triangles and the energy loss; here, a system composed by two vehicles
While the method has been applied to IGLAD database, the proposed method can be applied to more in-depth databases: a higher number of parameters reported can give rise to additional checks, eventually based on other physical laws
Summary
A road accident is commonly the result of many factors, circumstances and conditions which must be simultaneously present to create that specific event. Data collected from in-depth road accident investigations are very informative and contain many variables for a single investigated case. These data can be used to get a more detailed knowledge on accidents and injury causation associated with a specific accident scenario. Accident database information allows to make different analysis in terms of vehicles, occupants or infrastructure, and their results can provide fundamental input to the operators for the increase in road safety. Accidents analysis allows to highlight the most frequent road contexts and scenarios where accidents take place, to give suggestions regarding behaviors of driver and pedestrians and vehicles active/passive safety systems’ performance [1]. A comparison can be Designs 2018, 2, 4; doi:10.3390/designs2010004 www.mdpi.com/journal/designs
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