Car driver casualty rates in Great Britain by type of car

Since 1989, the British STATS19 national road accident reporting system has included the Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM). This allows the basic vehicle record to be augmented with details such as the date of first registration and codes that specify the vehicle's make and model. In order to examine the influence of car type upon the driver casualty rate, this paper groups car models into six types, ranging from 'Minis and Superminis' to '4x4s and people carriers (pc)'. Exploratory analyses of data from accidents that occurred between 2001 and 2005 show that the driver casualty rate falls markedly with size of car. In car-car collisions, the rate also rises markedly with the size of the other car. The car's year of first registration also influences the casualty rate, and represents the influence of changes in the characteristics of new cars. Statistical models are fitted to identify the separate influences on a driver's risk of injury in a car-car collision of the type and registration year of the driver's car and the type and registration year of the other car in the collision. The analysis is extended to include collisions with other vehicles such as lorries and buses.