A Congressional aide who insisted on anonymity said that Mr. Tauzin's committee was particularly interested in learning why more recent models of Ford Explorers have had higher rates of crashes.
Beginning in 1997, as more automakers entered the market for four-door sport utilities, Ford more than tripled production of two-door Explorers instead, which were less expensive and marketed to younger drivers, who tend to have higher rates of crashes.
But they insisted the track was safe, saying the rate of crashes is comparable to that of other tracks.
Although motorcycle registrations also increased, the rate of crashes per 10,000 registrants remained the same, indicating that there was little change in driving habits, road conditions or the risk behavior of riders.
Other researchers have also found that the reason the rate of crashes among teenagers is so high — they account for 10 times as many crashes as middle-aged drivers — is not that they are reckless, but that they make simple mistakes, like failing to scan the road, misjudging driving conditions and becoming distracted.
In a 2005 report, researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill found that open-lunch policies at high schools in three local counties contributed to a higher rate of crashes among teenage drivers, and also increased the likelihood of multiple passengers in a car.
Nevertheless, the rate of crashes will not equate to zero.
What's more, he says, other studies have linked these behaviors to an increased rate of crashes.
Japan has an established driver culture, but an emphasis on reducing risk, which results in a lower rate of crashes.
From Fig. 4, it is clear that the peak hours have higher rate of crashes (i.e., per year per hour) than the off peak, which could be due to higher traffic exposures.
Rates of citation, crashes and at-fault crashes, expressed as events per 10 000 license days, were calculated separately for program drivers and their corresponding control groups for each medical condition category and restriction status.
