Most crashes with delivery vans are side impact collisions on intersections (where both vehicles drive straight ahead) or head-on collisions without lane changes (both vehicles driving straight ahead), see Figure 5.a, 5.b and Table 3. For trucks, head-on collisions without lane changes are most frequent. These crashes are also relatively frequent for cars. It is remarkable that for trucks and delivery vans rear-end collisions with a stationary vehicle and right side impact collisions (with a stationary vehicle or when turning right) relatively outnumber these kinds of crashes for cars. (Figure 5.c, 5.d, 5.e). Right side impact collisions when turning right concern the well-known blind spot crashes (also see the question How big is the ‘blind spot problem’ and what can be done? ). In addition, sideswipe collisions (figure 5.f) for trucks outnumber this kind of collision for both delivery vans and cars.
Figure 5. Diagram of common collisions of delivery vans or trucks, both within transport mode (a, b) and with cars (c, d, e, f). [12].
|
Position |
Trucks |
|
Delivery vans |
|
Cars |
|
|
|
Manoeuvre |
Number |
Manoeuvre |
Number |
Manoeuvre |
Number |
|
1 |
Head-on without lane change |
111 |
Side impact collision at intersection |
59 |
Collision with tree and other solid objects |
596 |
|
2 |
Other side impact collisions |
65 |
Head-on without lane change |
59 |
Head-on without lane change |
294 |
|
3 |
Side impact collision at intersection |
55 |
Collision with tree and other solid objects |
54 |
Side impact collision at intersection |
269 |
|
4 |
Rear-end without turning |
50 |
Rear-end without turning |
44 |
Other side impact collisions |
217 |
|
5 |
Other |
37 |
Other side impact collisions |
42 |
Rear-end without turning |
118 |
|
6 |
Rear-end with stationary vehicle |
23 |
Rear-end with stationary vehicle |
19 |
Not off the road |
117 |
|
7 |
Left side impact, turning left |
23 |
Other |
16 |
Collision with other road furniture |
91 |
|
8 |
Sideswipe |
19 |
Right side impact with crossing vehicle |
15 |
Other |
83 |
|
9 |
Right side impact, turning right[i] |
16 |
Left side impact, turning left |
15 |
Pedestrian on pavement or roadside |
78 |
|
10 |
Pedestrian on pavement or roadside |
16 |
Collision with other road furniture |
14 |
Left side impact, turning left |
72 |
Table 3. Top 10 of manoeuvres with the highest number of registered road deaths from 2008 to 2014[ii] for trucks, delivery vans and cars respectively. Manoeuvres in bold do occur in the case of trucks and/or delivery vans, but not in the case of cars (BRON – IenW).
Based on three in-depth Belgian studies of fatal and non-fatal crashes with trucks, Temmerman et al. [13] identified four common crash types. About 25% of the crashes studies were rear-end collisions, mainly in traffic jams. 20% were blind spot crashes between trucks and vulnerable road users, mainly the blind spot on the right for trucks turning right. Over 15% were side impact collisions at intersections. Finally, almost 10% were crashes involving lane departure, such as unintentional lane departures or errors during overtaking manoeuvres. At European level, the ETAC in-depth study [14] describes the following four common crash types in fatal and non-fatal crashes with trucks: crashes at intersections (27%), rear-end collisions (21%), crashes on account of lane departure (11%) and single truck crashes (7%).
Based on an in-depth study of inter-urban crashes in the Netherlands with delivery vans, Davidse and Van Duijvenvoorde [15] identified five common crash types:
- Reversing driver collides with a vulnerable crash opponent that the driver did not see (on account of the enclosed cab);
- Driver turning right does not see cyclist/light moped rider going straight ahead (blind spot crash);
- Driver is not alert to crossing traffic;
- Driver and crossing traffic cannot see each other because the sight distance is inadequate;
- Driver enters a confusing traffic situation which calls for special attention.
[i] The ‘right side impact, turning right’ category includes, among others, blind spot crashes.
[ii] This period was chosen because, from 2015 onwards, by far most crash manoeuvres have been registered as ‘other’ or ‘other single’, which implies no reliable conclusions may be drawn
