head-on collision
A head-on collision is one where the front ends of two ships, trains, planes or vehicles hit each other, as opposed to a side-collision or rear-end collision.
Rail transport
With rail, a head-on collision often implies a collision on a single line railway. This usually means that at least one of the trains has passed a signal at danger, or that a signalman has made a major error. Head-on collisions may also occur at junctions, for similar reasons.
With railways, the distance required for a train to stop is usually greater than the distance that can be sighted before the next blind curve, which is why signals and safeworking systems are so important.
In U.S. railroad jargon, they're called a .
Accidents
Note: if the collision occurs at a station or junction, or trains are travelling in the same direction, then the accident is not a pure head-on collision.
 August 11, 1837 — Suffolk, Virginia
August 12, 1853 — Pawtucket, Rhode Island — 30 killed.
September 10, 1874 — Norwich Thorpe, Norfolk, England — telegraph clerk's error; 25 killed
August 7, 1876 — Radstock rail accident, Somerset, England — catalogue of errors through mismanagement; 15 killed
1892 — Lander, California
February 9, 1904 — Sand Point, Ontario — 15 killed.
September 24 1904 — Morristown, Tennessee — 113 killed.
September 15, 1907, Canaan, New Hampshire
April 12, 1909 — Gary, Indiana train runs past a meet point.
June 19, 1909 — Shadyside, Indiana train runs past a meet point.
July 5, 1912 — Ligonier, Pennsylvania — 26 killed
July 9, 1918 — Great train wreck of 1918, Nashville, Tennessee — 101 killed.
January 26, 1921 — Abermule train collision, Montgomeryshire — failure to observe proper procedures; 17 killed.
December 5, 1921 — Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania — 27 killed.
March 12, 1928 — Katukurunda, Sri Lanka — 28 killed.
March 15, 1957 — near Kuurila, Finland — 28 killed.
November 16, 1960 — Stéblová train disaster, Czechoslovakia: 118 killed.
1969 — Violet Town railway disaster, Australia — dead driver drives through crossing loop; no ATP; 9 killed.
May 27, 1971 — Radevormwald, Germany — A freight train and a passenger train crashed into each other. 46 killed.
July 25, 1980 — Winsum, Netherlands: Two trains collide on a single track between Groningen and Roodeschool resulting in 9 deaths. Not clear if accident "head-on".
January 27, 1982 — A freight train and an express passenger train collide head-on in heavy fog near Agra, India, killing 50.
January 21, 1985 — Gary, Indiana — two South Shore Line trains collide head-on, 85 injured.
February 8, 1986 — Hinton train collision, Alberta — freight train passed red light due to sleeping crew; 23 killed.
1989/1991 — Glasgow Bellgrove and Newton, Scotland — both SPAD’s with track layout at single lead junctions a major contributory factor
1994 — Cowden rail crash, England.
January 14, 1996 — Hines Hill train collision, Australia — Signal Passed At Danger at a crossing loop causes a head-on collision
May 1, 1997 — Hornbækbanen, Denmark: Two trains collide frontally after one passed a red signal leaving Firhøj station. Both drivers are killed.
August 2, 1999 — Gauhati rail disaster — Two express trains collide head-on in. Over 285 people are killed.
September 9, 2002 — Bad Münder, Germany — Two freight trains collide head-on after a brake failure.
March 20, 2003 — Roermond, Netherlands — A NS passenger train collides head-on with a freight train;
July 1, 2006 — Roslyn, Pennsylvania — 30 injured.
August 27, 2006 — head-on collision between passenger and freight trains 30 km south of Victoria Falls — 5 killed.
October 11, 2006 — 2006 Zoufftgen rail crash - head-on collision at Zoufftgen, on the border between France and Luxembourg
September 122008 - 2008 Chatsworth train collision- head-on collision in Los Angeles - 25 killed, 135 injured
Sea transport
With shipping, there are two main factors influencing the chance of a head on collision. Firstly, even with radar and radio, it is difficult to tell what course the opposing ships are following. Secondly, big ships have so much momentum, that it is very hard to change course at the last moment.
Road transport
Head-on collisions are an often fatal type of road traffic accident. U.S. statistics show that in 2005, head-on crashes were only 2.0% of all crashes, yet accounted for 10.1% of US fatal crashes. This over-representation is because the relative velocities of vehicles traveling in opposite directions is high. A head-on crash between two vehicles traveling at 50 mph is comparable to a vehicle traveling at 100 mph striking a stationary vehicle.
Head-on collisions, sideswipes, and run-off-road crashes all belong to a category of crashes called lane-departure or road-departure crashes. This is because they have similar causes, if different consequences. The driver of a vehicle fails to stay centered in their lane, and either leaves the roadway, or crosses the centerline, possibly resulting in a head-on or sideswipe collision, or, if the vehicle avoids oncoming traffic, a run-off-road crash on the far side of the road.
Preventive measures include traffic signs and road surface markings to help guide drivers through curves, as well as separating opposing lanes of traffic with wide central reservation (or median) and median barriers to prevent crossover incidents. Median barriers are physical barriers between the lanes of traffic, such as concrete barriers or wire rope safety barrier. These are actually roadside hazards in their own right, but on high speed roads, the severity of a collision with a median barrier is usually lower than the severity of a head-on crash.
The European Road Assessment Programme's Road Protection Score (RPS) is based on a schedule of detailed road design elements that correspond to each of the four main crash types, including head-on collisions. The Head-on Crash element of the RPS measures how well traffic lanes are separated. Motorways generally have crash protection features in harmony with the high speeds allowed. The Star Rating results show that motorways generally score well with a typical 4-star rating even though their permitted speeds are the highest on the network. But results from Star Rating research in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden have shown that there is a pressing need to find better median, run-off and junction protection at reasonable cost on single carriageway roads.
Another form of head-on crash is the wrong-way entry crash, where a driver on a surface road turns onto an off-ramp from a motorway or freeway, instead of the on-ramp. They can also happen on divided arterials if a driver turns into the wrong side of the road. Considerable importance is placed on designing ramp terminals and intersections to prevent these incidents. This often takes to form of special signage at freeway off-ramps to discourage drivers from going the wrong way. The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices provides instruction on this signage installation in its Section 2E.50.
Sideswipe collisions
Sideswipe collisions are where the sides of two vehicles traveling in opposite directions touch. They differ from head-on collisions only in that the errant vehicle impacts the side of the other vehicle rather than the front. Severity is usually lower than a head-on collision, since it tends to be a glancing blow rather than a direct impact. However, loss of control of either vehicle can have unpredictable effects and secondary crashes can dramatically increase the expected crash severity.
Sideswipe collisions are frequently caused by a failure to control a vehicle.
See also
List of rail accidents
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