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100-573: In partnership with national motoring organisations and local authorities, EuroRAP assesses roads in Europe to show how well they protect life in the event of a crash . It is a sister programme to Euro NCAP , and seeks to improve road safety through road design. EuroRAP currently has active programmes in 29 countries, mostly in Europe . EuroRAP is financially supported by the FIA Foundation for

200-543: A south-pointing chariot , a vehicle with an early form of guidance system. The stagecoach , a four-wheeled vehicle drawn by horses, originated in 13th century England. Railways began reappearing in Europe after the Dark Ages . The earliest known record of a railway in Europe from this period is a stained-glass window in the Minster of Freiburg im Breisgau dating from around 1350. In 1515, Cardinal Matthäus Lang wrote

300-513: A wagonway , a predecessor of the railway, found so far was the 6 to 8.5 km (4 to 5 mi) long Diolkos wagonway, which transported boats across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece since around 600 BC. Wheeled vehicles pulled by men and animals ran in grooves in limestone , which provided the track element, preventing the wagons from leaving the intended route. In 200 CE, Ma Jun built

400-433: A boost from high altitude winds. Compressed gas is currently an experimental method of storing energy. In this case, compressed gas is simply stored in a tank and released when necessary. Like elastics, they have hysteresis losses when gas heats up during compression. Gravitational potential energy is a form of energy used in gliders, skis, bobsleds and numerous other vehicles that go down hill. Regenerative braking

500-1252: A cost-effective way. There is evidence that well-targeted road safety improvements save lives, at both individual locations and across networks. For example, on a section of the A4128 in the UK, speed reductions, improved signs and markings, intelligent road studs, traffic calming and upgraded pedestrian crossings helped cut the number of fatal and serious crashes from 19 in 2004–06 to two in 2007–09 – an 89% reduction. The Safer Roads Investment Plans include extensive planning and engineering information such as road attribute records, countermeasure proposals and economic assessments for 100 metre sections of road. They are supported by online software. To date, Safer Roads Investment Plans have been used to identify improvements in low- and middle-income countries that could prevent more than 50,000 deaths and serious injuries per year, saving around $ 1.2 billion per year in crash costs avoided. 29 countries are currently involved in EuroRAP. Countries themselves are not members, but organisations based in those countries can be. In this list, countries are given with

600-551: A crash afraid to drive again. In some cases, psychological trauma may affect individuals' lives, causing difficulty going to work, attending school, or performing family responsibilities. Road incidents are caused by a large number of human factors such as failing to act according to weather conditions, road design, signage, speed limits, lighting conditions, pavement markings, and roadway obstacles. A 1985 study by K. Rumar, using British and American crash reports as data, suggested 57% of crashes were due solely to driver factors, 27% to

700-597: A description of the Reisszug , a funicular railway at the Hohensalzburg Fortress in Austria. The line originally used wooden rails and a hemp haulage rope and was operated by human or animal power, through a treadwheel . 1769: Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot is often credited with building the first self-propelled mechanical vehicle or automobile in 1769. In Russia, in the 1780s, Ivan Kulibin developed

800-501: A driver. For example, a collision may be caused by a driver who intends to commit vehicular suicide . Collisions may also be intentionally caused by people who hope to make an insurance claim against the other driver or may be staged for such purposes as insurance fraud. Motor vehicles may also be involved in collisions as part of a deliberate effort to hurt other people, such as in a vehicle-ramming attack or vehicular homicide . A number of physical injuries can commonly result from

900-853: A fact that the New York Times denied in error . Rocket engines can be particularly simple, sometimes consisting of nothing more than a catalyst, as in the case of a hydrogen peroxide rocket. This makes them an attractive option for vehicles such as jet packs. Despite their simplicity, rocket engines are often dangerous and susceptible to explosions. The fuel they run off may be flammable, poisonous, corrosive or cryogenic. They also suffer from poor efficiency. For these reasons, rocket engines are only used when absolutely necessary. Electric motors are used in electric vehicles such as electric bicycles , electric scooters, small boats, subways, trains , trolleybuses , trams and experimental aircraft . Electric motors can be very efficient: over 90% efficiency

1000-671: A flight with an actual ornithopter on July 31, 2010. Paddle wheels are used on some older watercraft and their reconstructions. These ships were known as paddle steamers . Because paddle wheels simply push against the water, their design and construction is very simple. The oldest such ship in scheduled service is the Skibladner . Many pedalo boats also use paddle wheels for propulsion. Screw-propelled vehicles are propelled by auger -like cylinders fitted with helical flanges. Because they can produce thrust on both land and water, they are commonly used on all-terrain vehicles. The ZiL-2906

1100-423: A gas station. Fuel cells are similar to batteries in that they convert from chemical to electrical energy, but have their own advantages and disadvantages. Electrified rails and overhead cables are a common source of electrical energy on subways, railways, trams, and trolleybuses. Solar energy is a more modern development, and several solar vehicles have been successfully built and tested, including Helios ,

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1200-468: A go around is needed. Parachutes are used to slow down vehicles travelling very fast. Parachutes have been used in land, air and space vehicles such as the ThrustSSC , Eurofighter Typhoon and Apollo Command Module . Some older Soviet passenger jets had braking parachutes for emergency landings. Boats use similar devices called sea anchors to maintain stability in rough seas. To further increase

1300-515: A hot exhaust. Trains using turbines are called gas turbine-electric locomotives . Examples of surface vehicles using turbines are M1 Abrams , MTT Turbine SUPERBIKE and the Millennium . Pulse jet engines are similar in many ways to turbojets but have almost no moving parts. For this reason, they were very appealing to vehicle designers in the past; however, their noise, heat, and inefficiency have led to their abandonment. A historical example of

1400-543: A human-pedalled, three-wheeled carriage with modern features such as a flywheel , brake , gear box and bearings ; however, it was not developed further. In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers developed the first balloon vehicle. In 1801, Richard Trevithick built and demonstrated his Puffing Devil road locomotive, which many believe was the first demonstration of a steam-powered road vehicle, though it could not maintain sufficient steam pressure for long periods and

1500-670: A net increase in road casualties due to a phenomenon known as risk compensation . Observation of driver behaviors before and after seat belt laws does not support the risk compensation hypothesis. Several driving behaviors were observed on the road before and after the belt use law was enforced in Newfoundland, and in Nova Scotia during the same period without a law. Belt use increased from 16 percent to 77 percent in Newfoundland and remained virtually unchanged in Nova Scotia. Four driver behaviors (speed, stopping at intersections when

1600-673: A reaction to consumer pressure, after publications such as Ralph Nader 's 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed accused motor manufacturers of indifference to safety. In the early 1970s, British Leyland started an intensive program of vehicle safety research, producing a number of prototype experimental safety vehicles demonstrating various innovations for occupant and pedestrian protection such as airbags , anti-lock brakes , impact-absorbing side-panels, front and rear head restraints, run-flat tires, smooth and deformable front-ends, impact-absorbing bumpers, and retractable headlamps. The design has also been influenced by government legislation, such as

1700-457: A result suggesting overconfidence in their abilities. Nearly all drivers who had been in a crash did not believe themselves to be at fault. One survey of drivers reported that they thought the key elements of good driving were: Although proficiency in these skills is taught and tested as part of the driving exam, a "good" driver can still be at a high risk of crashing because: the feeling of being confident in more and more challenging situations

1800-597: A solar-powered aircraft. Nuclear power is a more exclusive form of energy storage, currently limited to large ships and submarines, mostly military. Nuclear energy can be released by a nuclear reactor , nuclear battery , or repeatedly detonating nuclear bombs . There have been two experiments with nuclear-powered aircraft, the Tupolev Tu-119 and the Convair X-6 . Mechanical strain is another method of storing energy, whereby an elastic band or metal spring

1900-407: A special arrangement in which all four main wheels can be angled. Skids can also be used to steer by angling them, as in the case of a snowmobile . Ships, boats, submarines, dirigibles and aeroplanes usually have a rudder for steering. On an airplane, ailerons are used to bank the airplane for directional control, sometimes assisted by the rudder. With no power applied, most vehicles come to

2000-411: A stop due to friction . But it is often required to stop a vehicle faster than by friction alone, so almost all vehicles are equipped with a braking system. Wheeled vehicles are typically equipped with friction brakes, which use the friction between brake pads (stators) and brake rotors to slow the vehicle. Many airplanes have high-performance versions of the same system in their landing gear for use on

2100-1089: A ten-to-one ratio of in-vehicle fatalities between types of cars. In most cars, occupants have a 2–8% chance of death in a two-car collision. Vehicle A vehicle (from Latin vehiculum ) is a machine designed for self- propulsion , usually to transport people, cargo , or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles , tricycles , velomobiles ), animal-powered transports (e.g. horse-drawn carriages / wagons , ox carts , dog sleds ), motor vehicles (e.g. motorcycles , cars , trucks , buses , mobility scooters ) and railed vehicles ( trains , trams and monorails ), but more broadly also includes cable transport ( cable cars and elevators ), watercraft ( ships , boats and underwater vehicles ), amphibious vehicles (e.g. screw-propelled vehicles , hovercraft , seaplanes ), aircraft ( airplanes , helicopters , gliders and aerostats ) and space vehicles ( spacecraft , spaceplanes and launch vehicles ). This article primarily concerns

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2200-489: A vacuum, which limits their use to spaceborne vehicles. Ion thrusters run primarily off electricity, but they also need a propellant such as caesium , or, more recently xenon . Ion thrusters can achieve extremely high speeds and use little propellant; however, they are power-hungry. The mechanical energy that motors and engines produce must be converted to work by wheels, propellers, nozzles, or similar means. Aside from converting mechanical energy into motion, wheels allow

2300-422: A variety of conditions. One of the difficulties met when using gas motors is the cooling effect of expanding gas. These engines are limited by how quickly they absorb heat from their surroundings. The cooling effect can, however, double as air conditioning. Compressed gas motors also lose effectiveness with falling gas pressure. Ion thrusters are used on some satellites and spacecraft. They are only effective in

2400-566: A vehicle in order to submit lucrative claims to an insurance company. In the United States during the 1990s, criminals recruited Latin American immigrants to deliberately crash cars, usually by cutting in front of another car and slamming on the brakes. It was an illegal and risky job, and they were typically paid only $ 100. Jose Luis Lopez Perez, a staged crash driver, died after one such maneuver, leading to an investigation that uncovered

2500-528: A vehicle to roll along a surface and, with the exception of railed vehicles, to be steered. Wheels are ancient technology, with specimens being discovered from over 5000 years ago. Wheels are used in a plethora of vehicles, including motor vehicles, armoured personnel carriers , amphibious vehicles, airplanes, trains, skateboards and wheelbarrows. Nozzles are used in conjunction with almost all reaction engines. Vehicles using nozzles include jet aircraft, rockets, and personal watercraft . While most nozzles take

2600-400: A vehicle's steering through the gyroscopic effect . They have been used experimentally in gyrobuses . Wind energy is used by sailboats and land yachts as the primary source of energy. It is very cheap and fairly easy to use, the main issues being dependence on weather and upwind performance. Balloons also rely on the wind to move horizontally. Aircraft flying in the jet stream may get

2700-405: Is fuel . External combustion engines can use almost anything that burns as fuel, whilst internal combustion engines and rocket engines are designed to burn a specific fuel, typically gasoline, diesel or ethanol . Food is the fuel used to power non-motor vehicles such as cycles, rickshaws and other pedestrian-controlled vehicles. Another common medium for storing energy is batteries , which have

2800-403: Is a balance to be struck when "improving" the safety of a road. Conversely, a location that does not look dangerous may have a high crash frequency. This is, in part, because if drivers perceive a location as hazardous, they take more care. Collisions may be more likely to happen when hazardous road or traffic conditions are not obvious at a glance, or where the conditions are too complicated for

2900-519: Is an example of capturing kinetic energy where the brakes of a vehicle are augmented with a generator or other means of extracting energy. When needed, the energy is taken from the source and consumed by one or more motors or engines. Sometimes there is an intermediate medium, such as the batteries of a diesel submarine. Most motor vehicles have internal combustion engines . They are fairly cheap, easy to maintain, reliable, safe and small. Since these engines burn fuel, they have long ranges but pollute

3000-478: Is common. Electric motors can also be built to be powerful, reliable, low-maintenance and of any size. Electric motors can deliver a range of speeds and torques without necessarily using a gearbox (although it may be more economical to use one). Electric motors are limited in their use chiefly by the difficulty of supplying electricity. Compressed gas motors have been used on some vehicles experimentally. They are simple, efficient, safe, cheap, reliable and operate in

3100-414: Is deformed and releases energy as it is allowed to return to its ground state. Systems employing elastic materials suffer from hysteresis , and metal springs are too dense to be useful in many cases. Flywheels store energy in a spinning mass. Because a light and fast rotor is energetically favorable, flywheels can pose a significant safety hazard. Moreover, flywheels leak energy fairly quickly and affect

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3200-438: Is desirable and important in supplying traction to facilitate motion on land. Most land vehicles rely on friction for accelerating, decelerating and changing direction. Sudden reductions in traction can cause loss of control and accidents. Most vehicles, with the notable exception of railed vehicles, have at least one steering mechanism. Wheeled vehicles steer by angling their front or rear wheels. The B-52 Stratofortress has

3300-523: Is experienced as evidence of driving ability, and that 'proven' ability reinforces the feelings of confidence. Confidence feeds itself and grows unchecked until something happens – a near-miss or an accident. An Axa survey concluded Irish drivers are very safety-conscious relative to other European drivers. This does not translate to significantly lower crash rates in Ireland. Accompanying changes to road designs have been wide-scale adoptions of rules of

3400-534: Is frequently the driver who is blamed rather than the road; those reporting the collisions have a tendency to overlook the human factors involved, such as the subtleties of design and maintenance that a driver could fail to observe or inadequately compensate for. Research has shown that careful design and maintenance, with well-designed intersections, road surfaces, visibility and traffic control devices, can result in significant improvements in collision rates. Individual roads also have widely differing performance in

3500-405: Is less efficient than a younger person's. A 1985 US study showed that about 34% of serious crashes had contributing factors related to the roadway or its environment. Most of these crashes also involved a human factor. The road or environmental factor was either noted as making a significant contribution to the circumstances of the crash or did not allow room to recover. In these circumstances, it

3600-524: Is never empty , a propeller could be made to work in space. Similarly to propeller vehicles, some vehicles use wings for propulsion. Sailboats and sailplanes are propelled by the forward component of lift generated by their sails/wings. Ornithopters also produce thrust aerodynamically. Ornithopters with large rounded leading edges produce lift by leading-edge suction forces. Research at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies lead to

3700-453: Is reflected by actuaries when they set insurance rates for different age groups, partly based on their age, sex, and choice of vehicle. Older drivers with slower reactions might be expected to be involved in more collisions, but this has not been the case as they tend to drive less and, apparently, more cautiously. Attempts to impose traffic policies can be complicated by local circumstances and driver behavior. In 1969 Leeming warned that there

3800-591: Is restricted to tip jet helicopters and high speed aircraft such as the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird . Rocket engines are primarily used on rockets, rocket sleds and experimental aircraft. Rocket engines are extremely powerful. The heaviest vehicle ever to leave the ground, the Saturn V rocket, was powered by five F-1 rocket engines generating a combined 180 million horsepower (134.2 gigawatt). Rocket engines also have no need to "push off" anything,

3900-412: Is shown in colour-coded bandings from high (black), to low risk (green). The establishment of road safety targets requires that safety performance can be monitored over time. Governments and funding agencies can also benefit from evaluating the road safety impacts of their investments. Performance tracking identifies whether fewer people are being killed or seriously injured on a road section over time and

4000-505: Is the most-produced helicopter. The top commercial jet airliner is the Boeing 737 , at about 10,000 in 2018. At around 14,000 for both, the most produced trams are the KTM-5 and Tatra T3 . The most common trolleybus is ZiU-9 . Locomotion consists of a means that allows displacement with little opposition, a power source to provide the required kinetic energy and a means to control

4100-511: Is unavailable or unreliable. Inspections are undertaken using specially equipped vehicles to collect digital, panoramic images or videos of roads as they are driven. These images are then used to record (or 'code') road design attributes known to influence the likelihood of a crash and its severity. The inspections create a permanent video and database record that can be reviewed easily by local engineers and planners. The attributes recorded at 100 metre intervals include: Roads are awarded stars for

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4200-618: The Associated Press updated its style guide to recommend that journalists use "crash, collision, or other terms" rather than "accident" unless culpability is proven. The AP also recommends avoiding "accident" when negligence is proven or claimed because the term "can be read as exonerating the person responsible." In 2021, the American Automobile Association (AAA) passed a resolution to replace "car accident" with "car crash" in their vocabulary. In 2022,

4300-618: The Campaign for Safe Road Design , which is calling on the UK Government to make safe road design a national transport priority. Research has shown that, across all collision types, it is less likely that seat belts were worn in collisions involving death or serious injury, rather than light injury; wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of death by about 45 percent. Seat belt use is controversial, with notable critics such as Professor John Adams suggesting that their use may lead to

4400-521: The Euro NCAP impact test . Common features designed to improve safety include thicker pillars, safety glass, interiors with no sharp edges, stronger bodies , other active or passive safety features, and smooth exteriors to reduce the consequences of an impact on pedestrians. The UK Department for Transport publish road casualty statistics for each type of collision and vehicle through its Road Casualties Great Britain report. These statistics show

4500-534: The Portland Bureau of Transportation recommends using "crash" rather than "accident". On the contrary, some have criticized the use of terminology other than accident for holding back safety improvements, based on the idea that such terms perpetuate a culture of blame that may discourage the involved parties from fully disclosing the facts, and thus frustrate attempts to address the real root causes . Some traffic collisions are caused intentionally by

4600-414: The blunt force trauma caused by a collision, ranging from bruising and contusions to catastrophic physical injury (e.g., paralysis), traumatic or non-traumatic cardiac arrest and death. The CDC estimates that roughly 100 people die in motor vehicle crashes each day in the United States. Following collisions, long-lasting psychological trauma may occur. These issues may make those who have been in

4700-874: The Associate Administrator for Motor Carriers of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration wrote a letter stating that "A crash is not an accident", emphasizing that the Department's Research and Special Programs Administration, the Federal Highway Administration , and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had all declared that "accident" should be avoided in their published writings and media communications. In 2016,

4800-804: The Automobile and Society , the International Road Assessment Programme , and the European Association of Motor Manufacturers. Programmes are typically self-financed by in-country automobile associations and national governments. Specific projects receive funding from the World Bank , Global Road Safety Facility, and institutions such as the European Commission . EuroRAP has received three Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards ;

4900-496: The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that leading contributing factors for fatal crashes included driving too fast for conditions or in excess of the speed limit, operating under the influence, failure to yield right of way, failure to keep within the proper lane, operating a vehicle in a careless manner, and distracted driving. Drivers distracted by mobile devices had nearly four times greater risk of crashing their cars than those who were not. Research from

5000-537: The UK's MOT test or German TÜV conformance inspection. The design of vehicles has also evolved to improve protection after collision, both for vehicle occupants and for those outside of the vehicle. Much of this work was led by automotive industry competition and technological innovation, leading to measures such as Saab 's safety cage and reinforced roof pillars of 1946, Ford's 1956 Lifeguard safety package, and Saab and Volvo 's introduction of standard fit seatbelts in 1959. Other initiatives were accelerated as

5100-601: The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute has found that drivers who are texting while driving are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash as non-texting drivers. Dialing a phone is the most dangerous distraction, increasing a drivers' chance of crashing by 12 times, followed by reading or writing, which increased the risk by ten times. An RAC survey of British drivers found 78% of drivers thought they were highly skilled at driving, and most thought they were better than other drivers,

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5200-863: The advantages of being responsive, useful in a wide range of power levels, environmentally friendly, efficient, simple to install, and easy to maintain. Batteries also facilitate the use of electric motors, which have their own advantages. On the other hand, batteries have low energy densities, short service life, poor performance at extreme temperatures, long charging times, and difficulties with disposal (although they can usually be recycled). Like fuel, batteries store chemical energy and can cause burns and poisoning in event of an accident. Batteries also lose effectiveness with time. The issue of charge time can be resolved by swapping discharged batteries with charged ones; however, this incurs additional hardware costs and may be impractical for larger batteries. Moreover, there must be standard batteries for battery swapping to work at

5300-458: The air, causing harmful acid rain . While intermittent internal combustion engines were once the primary means of aircraft propulsion, they have been largely superseded by continuous internal combustion engines, such as gas turbines . Turbine engines are light and, particularly when used on aircraft, efficient. On the other hand, they cost more and require careful maintenance. They can also be damaged by ingesting foreign objects, and they produce

5400-417: The aircraft when retracted. Reverse thrust is also used in many aeroplane engines. Propeller aircraft achieve reverse thrust by reversing the pitch of the propellers, while jet aircraft do so by redirecting their engine exhausts forward. On aircraft carriers , arresting gears are used to stop an aircraft. Pilots may even apply full forward throttle on touchdown, in case the arresting gear does not catch and

5500-531: The combined roadway and driver factors, 6% to the combined vehicle and driver factors, 3% solely to roadway factors, 3% to combined roadway, driver, and vehicle factors, 2% solely to vehicle factors, and 1% to combined roadway and vehicle factors. Reducing the severity of injury in crashes is more important than reducing incidence and ranking incidence by broad categories of causes is misleading regarding severe injury reduction. Vehicle and road modifications are generally more effective than behavioral change efforts with

5600-658: The control light was amber, turning left in front of oncoming traffic, and gaps in following distance) were measured at various sites before and after the law. Changes in these behaviors in Newfoundland were similar to those in Nova Scotia, except that drivers in Newfoundland drove slower on expressways after the law, contrary to the risk compensation theory. A well-designed and well-maintained vehicle, with good brakes, tires and well-adjusted suspension will be more controllable in an emergency and thus be better equipped to avoid collisions. Some mandatory vehicle inspection schemes include tests for some aspects of roadworthiness , such as

5700-491: The countermeasures that have been most effective, including cost, in reducing crashes and injury severity. Safety performance indicators also provide an effective means of monitoring performance. Measures such as helmet and seat belt wearing rates have been used effectively in assessing road safety behaviour, as have speed measurements and conflict studies, and RAP star ratings provide a set of safety performance indicators for road infrastructure. Star ratings are used to show

5800-410: The environment. A related engine is the external combustion engine . An example of this is the steam engine. Aside from fuel, steam engines also need water, making them impractical for some purposes. Steam engines also need time to warm up, whereas IC engines can usually run right after being started, although this may not be recommended in cold conditions. Steam engines burning coal release sulfur into

5900-435: The event of an impact. In Europe, there are now EuroRAP tests that indicate how "self-explaining" and forgiving a particular road and its roadside would be in the event of a major incident. In the UK, research has shown that investment in a safe road infrastructure program could yield a 1 ⁄ 3 reduction in road deaths, saving as much as £6 billion per year. A consortium of 13 major road safety stakeholders has formed

6000-552: The exception of certain laws such as required use of seat belts, motorcycle helmets, and graduated licensing of teenagers. Human factors in vehicle collisions include anything related to drivers and other road users that may contribute to a collision. Examples include driver behavior, visual and auditory acuity, decision-making ability, and reaction speed. A 1985 report based on British and American crash data found driver error, intoxication , and other human factors contribute wholly or partly to about 93% of crashes. A 2019 report from

6100-672: The first in 2004 for founding the European programme, the second in 2009 for founding the International Road Assessment Programme , and the third in 2014. EuroRAP aims to reduce the likelihood of traffic collisions and make those that do occur survivable. Its formal objectives are to: EuroRAP supports the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2012–2020. EuroRAP is a membership-based organisation, with members in high - and low-income countries . There are three categories of membership: EuroRAP has developed standardised protocols for showing

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6200-629: The first large-scale rocket program. The Opel RAK.1 became the first rocket car ; the following year, it also became the first rocket-powered aircraft . In 1961, the Soviet space program 's Vostok 1 carried Yuri Gagarin into space. In 1969, NASA 's Apollo 11 achieved the first Moon landing . In 2010, the number of motor vehicles in operation worldwide surpassed 1 billion, roughly one for every seven people. There are over 1 billion bicycles in use worldwide. In 2002 there were an estimated 590 million cars and 205 million motorcycles in service in

6300-675: The first sustained, controlled, reproducible flights. In 1903, the Wright brothers flew the Wright Flyer , the first controlled, powered aircraft, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina . In 1907, Gyroplane No.I became the first tethered rotorcraft to fly. The same year, the Cornu helicopter became the first rotorcraft to achieve free flight. In 1928, Opel initiated the Opel-RAK program,

6400-418: The ground. A Boeing 757 brake, for example, has 3 stators and 4 rotors. The Space Shuttle also uses frictional brakes on its wheels. As well as frictional brakes, hybrid and electric cars, trolleybuses and electric bicycles can also use regenerative brakes to recycle some of the vehicle's potential energy. High-speed trains sometimes use frictionless Eddy-current brakes ; however, widespread application of

6500-408: The increasing frequency of this type of crash. The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration reviewed research on traffic speed in 1998. The summary says: In the U.S. in 2018, 9,378 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes involving at least one speeding driver, which accounted for 26% of all traffic-related deaths for the year. In Michigan in 2019, excessive speed

6600-439: The individuals involved. Road transport is statistically the most dangerous situation people deal with on a daily basis, but casualty figures from such incidents attract less media attention than other, less frequent types of tragedy. The commonly used term car accident is increasingly falling out of favor with many government departments and organizations, with the Associated Press style guide recommending caution before using

6700-431: The introduction of improved brakes resulted in more aggressive driving, and another argued that compulsory seat belt laws have not been accompanied by a clearly attributed fall in overall fatalities. Most claims of risk compensation offsetting the effects of vehicle regulation and belt use laws have been discredited by research using more refined data. In the 1990s, Hans Monderman 's studies of driver behavior led him to

6800-479: The largest crash savings can be made and therefore countries do not need to include their entire road network in RAP analysis to make a large difference. Based on real crash and traffic flow data, colour-coded maps show a road's safety performance by measuring and mapping the rate at which road users are being killed or seriously injured. Different maps can be produced depending on the target audience. These include: Risk

6900-418: The level of safety they offer. These range from 1 (high risk) to 5 (low risk). To enable cost-effective assessment of roads, there is a global network of RAP-accredited suppliers who are capable of competitively bidding to undertake high quality inspections and coding. Where star ratings provide a measure of risk on a road, Safer Roads Investment Plans identify ways in which the star ratings can be improved in

7000-443: The likelihood of a fatal or serious crash and how well the road infrastructure would protect from death or serious injury when a crash occurs. By systematically inspecting roads, countries can develop an understanding of the level of risk built into their road networks. This provides the basis for targeting high risk sections for improvement before people are killed or seriously injured. Inspections are especially useful when crash data

7100-508: The limited human machine to perceive and react in the time and distance available. High incidence of crashes is not indicative of high injury risk. Crashes are common in areas of high vehicle congestion, but fatal crashes occur disproportionately on rural roads at night when traffic is relatively light. This phenomenon has been observed in risk compensation research, where the predicted reductions in collision rates have not occurred after legislative or technical changes. One study observed that

7200-727: The majority of low-income countries have increasing death rates due to traffic collisions. Middle-income countries have the highest rate with 20 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants , accounting for 80% of all road fatalities with 52% of all vehicles. While the death rate in Africa is the highest (24.1 per 100,000 inhabitants), the lowest rate is to be found in Europe (10.3 per 100,000 inhabitants). Traffic collisions can be classified by general types. Types of collision include head-on , road departure , rear-end , side collisions , and rollovers . Many different terms are commonly used to describe vehicle collisions. The World Health Organization uses

7300-519: The median for drivers of all ages. Also within this group, the highest collision incidence rate occurs within the first year of licensed driving. For this reason, many US states have enacted a zero-tolerance policy wherein receiving a moving violation within the first six months to one year of obtaining a license results in automatic license suspension. South Dakota is the only state that allows fourteen-year-olds to obtain drivers' licenses. Various factors such as fatigue or sleep deprivation might increase

7400-619: The more ubiquitous land vehicles, which can be broadly classified by the type of contact interface with the ground : wheels , tracks , rails or skis , as well as the non-contact technologies such as maglev . ISO 3833-1977 is the international standard for road vehicle types, terms and definitions. It is estimated by historians that boats have been used since prehistory ; rock paintings depicting boats, dated from around 50,000 to 15,000 BC, were found in Australia . The oldest boats found by archaeological excavation are logboats , with

7500-483: The motion, such as a brake and steering system. By far, most vehicles use wheels which employ the principle of rolling to enable displacement with very little rolling friction . It is essential that a vehicle have a source of energy to drive it. Energy can be extracted from external sources, as in the cases of a sailboat , a solar-powered car , or an electric streetcar that uses overhead lines. Energy can also be stored, provided it can be converted on demand and

7600-509: The number of road fatalities. A common cause of collisions is driving faster than one can stop within their field of vision . Such practice is illegal and is particularly responsible for an increase in fatalities at night – when it occurs most. Driver impairment describes factors that prevent the driver from driving at their normal level of skill. Common impairments include: Females in this age group exhibit somewhat lower collision and fatality rates than males but still register well above

7700-707: The oldest logboat found, the Pesse canoe found in a bog in the Netherlands, being carbon dated to 8040–7510 BC, making it 9,500–10,000 years old, A 7,000 year-old seagoing boat made from reeds and tar has been found in Kuwait. Boats were used between 4000 -3000 BC in Sumer , ancient Egypt and in the Indian Ocean. There is evidence of camel pulled wheeled vehicles about 4000–3000 BC. The earliest evidence of

7800-474: The propeller has been tested on many terrestrial vehicles, including the Schienenzeppelin train and numerous cars. In modern times, propellers are most prevalent on watercraft and aircraft, as well as some amphibious vehicles such as hovercraft and ground-effect vehicles . Intuitively, propellers cannot work in space as there is no working fluid; however, some sources have suggested that since space

7900-463: The rate of deceleration or where the brakes have failed, several mechanisms can be used to stop a vehicle. Cars and rolling stock usually have hand brakes that, while designed to secure an already parked vehicle, can provide limited braking should the primary brakes fail. A secondary procedure called forward-slip is sometimes used to slow airplanes by flying at an angle, causing more drag. Motor vehicle and trailer categories are defined according to

8000-675: The realization that signs and regulations had an adverse effect on a driver's ability to interact safely with other road users. Monderman developed shared space principles, rooted in the principles of the woonerven of the 1970s. He concluded that the removal of highway clutter, while allowing drivers and other road users to mingle with equal priority, could help drivers recognize environmental clues. They relied on their cognitive skills alone, reducing traffic speeds radically and resulting in lower levels of road casualties and lower levels of congestion. Some crashes are intended; staged crashes , for example, involve at least one party who hopes to crash

8100-479: The risk of a crash and its severity. On another web page, the RTA qualifies its claims by referring to one specific piece of research from 1997, and writes "Research has shown that the risk of a crash causing death or injury increases rapidly, even with small increases above an appropriately set speed limit." The contributory factor report in the official British road casualty statistics shows for 2006, that "exceeding

8200-431: The risk, or the number of hours of driving might increase the risk of an incident. 41% of drivers self-report having fallen asleep at the wheel. It is estimated that 15% of fatal crashes involve drowsiness (10% of daytime crashes, and 24% of nighttime crashes). Work factors can increase the risk of drowsy driving such as long or irregular hours or driving at night. Cell phone use is an increasingly significant problem on

8300-633: The road alongside law enforcement policies that included drink-driving laws, setting of speed limits, and speed enforcement systems such as speed cameras . Some countries' driving tests have been expanded to test a new driver's behavior during emergencies, and their hazard perception. There are demographic differences in crash rates. For example, although young people tend to have good reaction times, disproportionately more young male drivers feature in collisions, with researchers observing that many exhibit behaviors and attitudes to risk that can place them in more hazardous situations than other road users. This

8400-619: The roads and the U.S. National Safety Council compiled more than 30 studies postulating that hands-free is not a safer option because the brain remains distracted by the conversation and cannot focus solely on the task of driving. Several conditions can combine to create a more dangerous situation, for example, low doses of alcohol and cannabis have a more severe effect on driving performance than either in isolation. Taking recommended doses of several drugs together, which individually do not cause impairment, may cause drowsiness. This could be more pronounced in an elderly person whose renal function

8500-415: The safety level of a road providing a common language that everyone can speak. In low and middle income countries, the EuroRAP methodology provides a structure to measure and manage road safety risk, the basic building blocks of which are often lacking. As a result, these nations can often be faster and more innovative in applying new solutions. EuroRAP encourages countries to focus on their busiest roads where

8600-565: The shape of a cone or bell , some unorthodox designs have been created such as the aerospike . Some nozzles are intangible, such as the electromagnetic field nozzle of a vectored ion thruster. Continuous track is sometimes used instead of wheels to power land vehicles. Continuous track has the advantages of a larger contact area, easy repairs on small damage, and high maneuverability. Examples of vehicles using continuous tracks are tanks, snowmobiles and excavators. Two continuous tracks used together allow for steering. The largest land vehicle in

8700-402: The speed limit" was a contributory factor in 5% of all casualty crashes (14% of all fatal crashes), and "traveling too fast for conditions" was a contributory factor in 11% of all casualty crashes (18% of all fatal crashes). In France, in 2018, the speed limit was reduced from 90 km/h to 80 km/h on a large part of the local outside built-up area road network in the sole aim of reducing

8800-462: The storing medium's energy density and power density are sufficient to meet the vehicle's needs. Human power is a simple source of energy that requires nothing more than humans. Despite the fact that humans cannot exceed 500 W (0.67 hp) for meaningful amounts of time, the land speed record for human-powered vehicles (unpaced) is 133 km/h (83 mph), as of 2009 on a recumbent bicycle . The energy source used to power vehicles

8900-440: The technology has been limited by overheating and interference issues. Aside from landing gear brakes, most large aircraft have other ways of decelerating. In aircraft, air brakes are aerodynamic surfaces that provide braking force by increasing the frontal cross section, thus increasing the increasing the aerodynamic drag of the aircraft. These are usually implemented as flaps that oppose air flow when extended and are flush with

9000-447: The term accident , instead preferring terms such as collision , crash or incident . This is because the term accident may imply that there is no one to blame or that the collision was unavoidable, whereas most traffic collisions are the result of driving under the influence , excessive speed , distractions such as mobile phones , other risky behavior, poor road design, or other preventable factors. In 1997, George L. Reagle,

9100-644: The term road traffic injury , while the U.S. Census Bureau uses the term motor vehicle accidents ( MVA ), and Transport Canada uses the term "motor vehicle traffic collision" (MVTC). Other common terms include auto accident , car accident , car crash , car smash , car wreck , motor vehicle collision ( MVC ), personal injury collision ( PIC ), road accident , road traffic accident ( RTA ), road traffic collision ( RTC ), and road traffic incident ( RTI ) as well as more unofficial terms including smash-up , pile-up , and fender bender Many organizations, companies and government agencies have begun to avoid

9200-738: The term. Some collisions are intentional vehicle-ramming attacks , staged crashes , vehicular homicide or vehicular suicide . Several factors contribute to the risk of collisions, including vehicle design , speed of operation, road design , weather , road environment, driving skills, impairment due to alcohol or drugs , and behavior, notably aggressive driving , distracted driving, speeding and street racing . In 2013, 54 million people worldwide sustained injuries from traffic collisions. This resulted in 1.4 million deaths in 2013, up from 1.1 million deaths in 1990. About 68,000 of these occurred with children less than five years old. Almost all high-income countries have decreasing death rates, while

9300-639: The traffic management company INRIX announced that "accident" would be removed from their lexicon. The Maryland Department of Transportation 's Highway Safety Office emphasizes that "crashes are no accident", saying that "Using the word accident suggests that an incident was unavoidable, but many roadway crashes can be attributed to human error." The Michigan Department of Transportation states that "accident" should be dropped in favor of "crash", saying that "Traffic crashes are fixable problems, caused by inattentive drivers and driver behavior. They are not accidents." In line with their Vision Zero commitments,

9400-544: The use of a pulse jet was the V-1 flying bomb . Pulse jets are still occasionally used in amateur experiments. With the advent of modern technology, the pulse detonation engine has become practical and was successfully tested on a Rutan VariEze . While the pulse detonation engine is much more efficient than the pulse jet and even turbine engines, it still suffers from extreme noise and vibration levels. Ramjets also have few moving parts, but they only work at high speed, so their use

9500-468: The world, the Bagger 293 , is propelled by continuous tracks. Propellers (as well as screws, fans and rotors) are used to move through a fluid. Propellers have been used as toys since ancient times; however, it was Leonardo da Vinci who devised what was one of the earliest propeller driven vehicles, the "aerial-screw". In 1661, Toogood & Hays adopted the screw for use as a ship propeller. Since then,

9600-660: The world. At least 500 million Chinese Flying Pigeon bicycles have been made, more than any other single model of vehicle. The most-produced model of motor vehicle is the Honda Super Cub motorcycle, having sold 60 million units in 2008. The most-produced car model is the Toyota Corolla , with at least 35 million made by 2010. The most common fixed-wing airplane is the Cessna 172 , with about 44,000 having been made as of 2017. The Soviet Mil Mi-8 , at 17,000,

9700-506: The year they first became involved and the organisation that made them involved. Traffic collision A traffic collision , also known as a motor vehicle collision , or car crash , occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian , animal , road debris , or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Traffic collisions often result in injury , disability , death , and property damage as well as financial costs to both society and

9800-635: Was a Soviet-designed screw-propelled vehicle designed to retrieve cosmonauts from the Siberian wilderness. All or almost all of the useful energy produced by the engine is usually dissipated as friction; so minimizing frictional losses is very important in many vehicles. The main sources of friction are rolling friction and fluid drag (air drag or water drag). Wheels have low bearing friction, and pneumatic tires give low rolling friction. Steel wheels on steel tracks are lower still. Aerodynamic drag can be reduced by streamlined design features. Friction

9900-496: Was a factor in 18.8% of the fatalities that resulted from fatal motor vehicle crashes and in 15.6% of the suspected serious injuries resulting from crashes. The Road and Traffic Authority (RTA) of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) asserts speeding (traveling too fast for the prevailing conditions or above the posted speed limit ) is a factor in about 40 percent of road deaths. The RTA also says speeding increases

10000-662: Was of little practical use. In 1817, The Laufmaschine ("running machine"), invented by the German Baron Karl von Drais , became the first human means of transport to make use of the two-wheeler principle . It is regarded as the forerunner of the modern bicycle (and motorcycle). In 1885, Karl Benz built (and subsequently patented) the Benz Patent-Motorwagen , the first automobile, powered by his own four-stroke cycle gasoline engine . In 1885, Otto Lilienthal began experimental gliding and achieved

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