Background: In China, despite the decrease in average road traffic fatalities per capita, the fatality rate and injury rate have been increasing until 2015. Purpose: This study aims to analyze the road traffic accident severity in China from a macro viewpoint and various aspects and illuminate several key causal factors. From these analyses, we propose possible countermeasures to reduce accident severity. Method: The severity of traffic accidents is measured by human damage (HD) and case fatality rate (CFR). Different categorizations of national road traffic census data are analyzed to evaluate the severity of different types of accidents and further to demonstrate the key factors that contribute to the increase in accident severity. Regional data from selected major municipalities and provinces are also compared with national traffic census data to verify data consistency. Results: From 2000 to 2016, the overall CFR and HD of road accidents in China have increased by 19.0% and 63.7%, respectively. In 2016, CFR of freight vehicles is 33.5% higher than average; late-night accidents are more fatal than those that occur at other periods. The speeding issue is severely becoming worse. In 2000, its CFR is only 5.3% higher than average, while in 2016, the number is 42.0%. Conclusion and practical implementation: A growing trend of accident severity was found to be contrasting to the decline of road traffic accidents. From the analysis of casual factors, it was confirmed that the release way of the impact energy and the protection worn by the victims are key variables contributing to the severity of road traffic accidents.

Deyu Wang

Qinyi Liu

Liang Ma

Yijing Zhang

Haozhe Cong

Journal of Safety Research

Road traffic accident severity analysis: A census-based study in China

A growing trend of accident severity was found to be contrasting to the decline of road traffic accidents, and it was confirmed that the release way of the impact energy and the protection worn by the victims are key variables contributing to the severity of road Traffic accidents.

Category	Quartile
工程技术	2
工程技术, 人体工程学	2
工程技术, 公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生	2
工程技术, 社会科学跨领域	2
工程技术, 交通运输	3

Road traffic accident severity analysis: A census-based study in China

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