Restrictions are key, she said, pointing to a 1984 study that found that among 16-year-old drivers, nighttime driving restrictions reduced crashes by 69percentt in Pennsylvania, 62percentt in New York, 40percentt in Maryland, and 25percentt in Louisiana.
These passive measures have reduced crashes caused by cars wandering off the road by 20 to 50percentt, according to the Federal Highway Administration, but technology companies are looking to actively warn drivers even earlier.
"Cell phone bans have reduced cell phone use by drivers, but the perplexing thing is that they haven't reduced crashes," says Russ Rader, a spokesperson for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Arlington, Virginia, who was not involved in the new study.
When it comes to reducing crash fatalities, however, Gladwell raises questions about whether the emphasis placed on air bags over the last few decades is the best approach.
An Air Force researcher, Daniel Repperger, presented the results of a study that showed that in simulated flight tests, the use of haptic interfaces could reduce crash rates by as much as half in some cases.
But when an adult passenger is present, the Transportation Institute found, he or she can enhance safety — and reduce crash risk by up to 50percentt — by keeping eyes on the road, or encouraging safer behavior.
Because the edge of the vehicle hits the barrier, it misses the main crush-zone structures built into the middle of the vehicle that would reduce crash forces on the passenger compartment.
Because the edge of the vehicle hits the barrier, it misses the main crush-zone structures in the middle of the vehicle that reduce crash forces on the occupant compartment.
Because the impact is to the car's outer edge, it misses the main crush-zone structures that reduce crash forces to the passenger compartment, increasing the risk of severe damage to the structure that surrounds the occupants.
