Medical University of Hanover, Germany

Accident Research Unit at Medical University Hanover (ARU-MUH) - GERMANY

In 1973, the Federal Road Research Institute established an independent team at the Medical University of Hanover (in cooperation with the Technical University of Berlin). By 1984, this developed into a long-term on-scene accident research study, based in a defined geographical area surrounding and including Hanover, which collected representative results. As of 1985, a target of 1000 accidents per year was set to form the basis for future evaluations. The value of the in-depth accident research studies from the ARU-MUH has been recognised internationally - in the past, these data has served as the basis for developing suitable test methods for type approval (e.g. CREST). Special notice could be given to studies on the effectiveness of safety belts and child restraint systems. Cooperation with research teams in other countries enables the data to be used for international comparisons and research activities. The recommendations for the EC-funded Research Study STAIRS have been implemented into the data collection procedures. A database of around 20,000 cases now exists. Technical and medical experts of ARU-MUH are working on the field of national and international road safety research and science.