Investigation programmes researching causes and consequences of road accidents

The Department for Transport sponsors three accident investigation programmes in association with other agencies and outside bodies:

• On the Spot Accident Research (OTS)
• Co-operative Crash Injury Study (CCIS)
• Heavy Vehicle Crash Injury Study (HVCIS)

These programmes collect extensive information to help understand the causes of crashes and injuries, enabling the testing of the crashworthiness of vehicles and the effectiveness of car occupant protection systems such as restraints and air bags. They help establish safety protocols in support of the DfT's commitment to improving road safety. This unique research is highly regarded and supplies the basis for a number of further studies.

On the Spot Accident Research

On the Spot has investigated over three thousand road accidents on motorways, rural and urban roads. Data is collected at the crash scene alongside the emergency services in order to collect valuable, perishable information immediately. The accidents include all vehicle types and also those where pedestrians and other vulnerable road users are involved. It provides detailed information to facilitate the monitoring of vehicle crash-worthiness and safety devices, highway design features, road user behaviour, and associated injuries. This enables a greater understanding of the dynamics of a vehicle during an accident.

For further information visit On the Spot Accident Research Investigation: www.ukots.org

Cooperative Crash Injury Study

The Cooperative Crash Injury Study (CCIS) is the world’s largest study of in-depth car occupant injury causation, supplying information on the crashworthiness of vehicles and the effectiveness of occupant protection systems. It has offered a basis for improvement in vehicle safety and vehicle safety systems and a mechanism for monitoring their effectiveness. The twelve hundred crashes investigated each year provide the evidence to support developments in policy and standards to improve occupant protection in cars.

For further information visit Co-operative Crash Investigation Survey: www.ukccis.org

Heavy Vehicles Crash Investigation Study

The accident record of heavy vehicles (classified as those over 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight) in the UK is generally good. However, accidents involving heavy vehicles have the potential to cause a large number of casualties in a single incident. The Heavy Vehicle Crash Injury Study (HVCIS), which investigates over 100 crashes per year, has helped determine and understand the causes and consequent injuries of road accidents involving large goods vehicles (LGVs) and other commercial vehicles, such as buses, coaches, minibuses and light vans. In turn, this has helped to develop vehicle measures to reduce casualties.

For further information email: vsed@dft.gsi.gov.uk