REAR-END CRASHES

This article, which notes that the rear-end crash is one of the most frequently occuring types of accident on the nation's highways, discusses the ability of drivers to perceive closure with a leading vehicle, and describes their inability to estimate properly the velocity of a car ahead of them or the relative velocity between such a vehicle and their own vehicle. Many environmental factors make it more difficult for the driver both to detect a car that is ahead and to estimate the closure or rate of closure with it. Such factors need to be considered closely as must vehicle-related factors such as the operational condition of vehicle marking and signaling lamps. Although current vehicle lighting systems (defined by MVSS-108) provide the essential ingredients, they could be improved with the expectation that there would be a reduction in the number of rear-end crashes. The role of the current or alternative vehicle rear lighting systems in any crash situation needs to be carefully evaluated in conjunction with concurrent environmental and driver variables.