Impact of vehicle mass on accident damage on Community Roads

Abstract

On Community roads where various entities such as pedestrians coexist, reducing kinetic energy during a collision is essential. This study aims to analyze the relationship between the “mass” of a moving vehicle, which is directly related to the amount of kinetic energy, and accident damage on community streets and consider the significance of reducing the mass of a moving vehicle on the roads. Using open data on traffic accidents published by the National Police Agency, we analyzed the relationship between the degree of vehicle damage and vehicle mass estimated from vehicle size. As a result, the following findings were obtained. (1) The larger the size of a passenger car, the more minor the damage to its vehicle in an accident; (2) vehicle mass increases the damage to other vehicles instead of reducing the damage to the own vehicle; (3) it increases the overall damage in an accident, and (4) this tendency is particularly pronounced on community roads.