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Tremendous progress has been made in vehicle safety. The
fatality rate per hundred million vehicle miles traveled fell
from 5.5 in the mid-1960s to 1.7 in 1994. However, there are
still nearly 7 million motor vehicle crashes, involving 11.3
million vehicles and accounting for a staggering 42,000 deaths,
each year in the US. This translates to a loss of over $280
billion, or $820 per US resident per year.
Early automotive safety initiatives focused on passive
measures including preventive measures (improved headlights,
windshield wipers, and tire traction) and protective measures
(seatbelts, airbags, and crush zones). These improvements have
dramatically reduced the rate of crash-related injury severity
and fatalities.
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