Understanding Motor Vehicle Crash Disparities Across Driver Demographics: The Role of Federally Mandated Rearview Cameras

Abstract

Motor vehicle crashes remain a major public health concern, with disparities in motor vehicle crashes observed across race/ethnicity and socioeconomic factors. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) have the potential to reduce crash risks, but disparities in access and associated outcomes remain underexplored. This dissertation focuses on rearview cameras—the most recently federally mandated ADAS required in passenger vehicles — as a case study to examine accessibility and crash odds across demographic groups using a holistic approach. Three analyses are presented. First, a longitudinal analysis of national crash data examines trends in motor vehicle fatality rates by race/ethnicity, behavioral, and socioeconomic factors over an 11-year period, providing fundamental context on long-standing disparities. Second, a novel method based on public vehicle information is to determine rearview camera presence, in conjunction with New Jersey police-reported crash data to evaluate the relationship between rearview cameras and backing crash odds. Third, disparities in access and crash odds are explored by assessing whether the presence of rearview cameras—and the associated odds of being involved in a backing crash—differs by drivers' race/ethnicity and ZIP-code-based income. A central contribution of this work is the development of a macroergonomic framework for evaluating ADAS technologies. This framework incorporates not only vehicle-level factors, but also systemic inequities, demographic factors, and policy contexts. Unlike previous studies that rely on proprietary manufacturer data or insurance records, this research demonstrates a method to assess ADAS access and outcomes using public data sources. Importantly, it fills a gap in the literature by examining whether observed safety outcomes vary across race/ethnicity and income groups. This dissertation advances the understanding of how ADAS technologies—specifically rearview cameras—are distributed and associated with crash odds, helping to inform more equitable transportation safety policies.