The Role of Steering and Suspension Degradations and Failures in Accident Causation

Despite inherent difficulties of assessment, accident investigation can provide useful estimates of the role of steering and suspension degradations and failures in causing accidents; studies conducted by the Indiana University Institute for Research in Public Safety indicate that such factors probably account for no more than about 5% of accidents, and other causation studies record similarly low involvement percentages. However, neither the influence of different original equipment capabilities nor the role of degradations as a source of driver fatigue has been adequately considered. Another group of studies has shown that degradations in steering and suspension components can adversely affect vehicle handling, and that such degradations are common in the vehicle-in-use population.