Car accident

Car accidents are responsible for thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of disabilities each year.

Car makers have been alternatively accused of making cars that go too fast, and praised for the safety measures (such as ABS) found in new models.

Despite an ever-increasing safety level, both for cars and for roads, the number of accidents seems to remain more or less constant. Several explanations have been proposed:

• the number of cars is increasing, leading to more congested traffic
• a safer car increases the perceived safety level, inducing the driver to go at higher speeds
• new types of cars are inherently unsafe (see for example SUV)

Car accidents can be divided into some major categories:

• Rear-end collisions
• Side collisions
• Rollovers

In a collision between two cars, the car with less mass (and its occupants) are likely to suffer the most consequences.