March
2003
TP 14031 E
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Prepared by: |
Denis Boucher (ASFBA)
Road Safety and Motor Vehicle Regulation Directorate
Transport Canada |
How to get the full report
Abstract
The main objective of this study was to determine the
causal factors (including vehicle type) of collisions involving a light-duty
vehicle rollover. Information on the frequency of these collisions and on
the number of occupants killed or injured in these collisions is also provided.
Analyses were performed on the data contained in the Traffic Accident
Information Database (TRAID) for the calendar years 1993 to 1997. Data
from the Census of Vehicles In Operation Canada (CVIOC) for those years were
also used.
The analyses suggest that there are approximately 25,000
collisions involving a light-duty vehicle rollover per year in Canada; these
collisions result in the death of approximately 500 persons and in bodily injury
to another 15,000 to 17,000 persons. The data show that Light Trucks and
Vans (LTVs) roll over more often than automobiles both as a proportion of
single-vehicle collisions and the number of vehicles in-use; the data also show
single LTV rollovers cause more deaths and injuries to their occupants than
automobile rollovers in proportion to the number of single-vehicle collisions.
The causal factors of fatal single-vehicle rollover
collisions, as reported by police in accident report forms, were also reviewed.
Alcohol consumption, speeding and slippery roads are reported more often as a
contributing factor in that type of crash than they are in collisions not
involving a rollover, for both automobiles and LTVs. In addition, and only
for LTVs, Road Defects/Construction is reported more often as a contributing
factor in crashes involving a rollover. Curved roads increases the
proportion of fatal single vehicle crashes which result in rollovers for
automobiles only; in the case of LTVs, the proportion does not change but it is
consistently worse than that of automobiles.
Finally, the report notes that Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) were
becoming available in the national collision data; a preliminary review of the
available VIN data suggests that a large proportion of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs)
are erroneously classified as automobiles in TRAID. Once VINs are
available for all Provincial and Territorial Jurisdictions, it will be possible
to determine the extent of this error in vehicle classification. VIN data
will also allow the detailed study of rollover collisions for specific types of
vehicles such as SUVs.
How to get the full report:
The full report on the "Occurrence of Light-Duty
Vehicle Rollovers in TRAID (1993 to 1997)" is available in
portable document format (PDF -
256KB).
To view PDF documents you must use Adobe® Acrobat Reader. Visit the
Adobe site to download the latest, free version.
If you need an alternative format or for more information, please contact us by e-mail at
RoadSafetyWebMail@tc.gc.ca
or call toll free 1-800-333-0371 (Ottawa area (613) 998-8616).
Road Safety and Motor Vehicle
Regulation Directorate
Transport Canada
Tower C, Place de Ville
330 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N5
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