Accident Terms and Definitions

Advanced Frontal Airbags
Advanced frontal air bags are designed to meet the needs of the occupant in a variety of specific crash situations. Depending on design, advanced frontal air bag systems automatically determine if and with what level of power the driver frontal air bag and the passenger frontal air bag will inflate.

Linear Momentum
A quantity associated with the motion of an object along a straight path. The linear momentum of an object is defined to be equal to its mass times its velocity.

Risk assessment
The determination of the probability of failure of a component or system.

Frequent or unsafe lane changes
In driver test books there are laws that state what type of passing may be done acording to the yellow lines paited in the road or highway. There are some laws that regulate the distance that a lane change can be made related to an intersection.

Raised Pavement Markers (R.P.M.)
Non-reflectorized ceramic pavement markers, also known as "Bott's Dotts", are most often used to delineate travel lane lines. Reflectorized RPM's come in many different colors and are used to delineate travel lane lines and outside boundaries.

Reference Point
In angular momentum, the point in space around which the motion of an object is described. The angular momentum of an object is defined in relation to some point, the reference point. The velocity and radius of an object are measured from the reference point.

Tort
An injury or wrong committed, with or without force, to the person or property of another, which gives rise to a claim for damages.

Comparative negligence
Negligence of a plaintiff in a civil suit which decreases his recovery by his percentage of negligence compared to a defendant's negligence.

Accident
What auto insurance is designed to cover. Accidents may be considered either at fault or not at fault. If you have at fault accidents on your driving record, your rates will be higher.

Reaction Time
The motorist who is not alert cannot cope with a sudden emergency as quickly as is necessary. An overly relaxed driver requires more time to react to an emergency than does an alert one.