Head-on collision


A head-on collision is a traffic collision where the front ends of two vehicles such as cars, trains, ships or planes hit each other when travelling in opposite directions, as opposed to a side collision or rear-end collision.

Rail transport

With railways, a head-on collision occurs most often 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. In the early days of railroading in the United States, such collisions were quite common and gave to the rise of the term "Cornfield Meet." As time progressed and signalling became more standardized, such accidents became less frequent. Even so, the term still sees some usage in the industry. The origins of the term are not well known, but it is attributed to accidents happening in rural America where farming and cornfields were common. The first known usage of the term was in the mid-19th century.
The distance required for a train to stop is usually greater than the distance that can be seen before the next blind curve, which is why signals and safeworking systems are so important.

List of collisions

Note: if the collision occurs at a station or junction, or trains are travelling in the same direction, then the collision is not a pure head-on collision
DateNameLocationCauseDeathsInjuries
September 10, 1874Thorpe rail accidentThorpe St Andrew, Norfolk, EnglandSingle-line telegraphic working error2575
August 7, 1876Radstock rail accidentSomerset and Dorset Joint Railway, EnglandSingle-line telegraphic working error15
September 24, 1904New Market train wreckNew Market, Tennessee, United StatesEngineer error56 - 113106
July 9, 1918Great Train Wreck of 1918Nashville, Tennessee, United StatesHuman error101171
January 26, 1921Abermule train collisionAbermule, Montgomeryshire, WalesSingle-line token error1736
October 20, 1957Yarımburgaz train disasterYarımburgaz, Küçükçekmece, İstanbulAllowing two trains into same occupied block section by signalmen95150
November 16, 1960Stéblová train disasterStéblová, CzechoslovakiaCollision118110
February 7, 1969Violet Town rail accidentViolet Town, Victoria, AustraliaDriver heart attack9117
May 27, 1971Dahlerau train disasterDahlerau, Radevormwald, West GermanyNot determined4625
May 4, 1976Schiedam train disasterNear Schiedam, NetherlandsError by the chief conductor
and the driver of Stoptrein 4116,
lack of ATB		24
August 28, 1979Nijmegen train collisionBetween Wijchen and Nijmegen, Netherlands836
July 25, 1980Winsum train collisionWinsum, GroningenHead-on-collision921
September 11, 1985Moimenta-Alcafache train crashMangualde, PortugalCollision49
February 8, 1986Hinton train collisionDalehurst, Alberta, CanadaLocomotive engineer fatigue
Conductor error		2371
February 17, 1986Queronque rail accidentLimache, Marga Marga Province, ChileHuman error58+510
October 19, 19871987 Bintaro train crashBintaro, Tangerang, IndonesiaHuman error156± 300
March 6, 1989Glasgow Bellgrove rail crashBellgrove, Glasgow, ScotlandSignal Passed At Danger2
July 21, 1991Newton rail accidentNewton, South Lanarkshire, ScotlandSignal Passed At Danger, inadequate junction layout422
October 15, 1994Cowden rail crashCowden railway station, Kent, EnglandSignal Passed At Danger513
January 14, 1996Hines Hill train collisionHines Hill, Western AustraliaSignal Passed At Danger2
August 12, 1998Suonenjoki rail collisionSuonenjoki, FinlandMisinterpretation of signals, possible signal malfunction026
August 2, 1999Gaisal train disasterGaisal, Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal, IndiaHuman error285>300
October 5, 1999Ladbroke Grove rail crashLadbroke Grove, London, EnglandSignal Passed At Danger31417
January 4, 2000Åsta accidentÅsta, Åmot, Norway19
January 7, 2005Crevalcore train crashCrevalcore, Italy
October 11, 2006Zoufftgen train collisionZoufftgen, Lorraine, FranceHuman error620
September 12, 20082008 Chatsworth train collisionLos Angeles, California, United StatesSignal Passed At Danger25135
February 15, 2010Halle train collisionBuizingen, Halle, BelgiumRunning of a red signal19171
January 29, 2011Hordorf train collisionHordorf, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany1023
April 21, 2012Sloterdijk train collisionWesterpark, Amsterdam, NetherlandsSuspected Signal Passed At Danger1116
February 9, 2016Bad Aibling rail accidentBad Aibling, Bavaria, GermanySignalman's error1285
July 12, 2016Andria-Corato train collisionAndria, Apulia, ItalyUnder investigation; possible human error2354
November 15, 2017Joo Koon rail accidentJoo Koon MRT station, SingaporeSoftware-related issue038


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 collision. The NHTSA defines a head-on collision thusly:
In Canada, in 2017, 6,293 vehicles and 8,891 persons were involved in head-on collision, injuring 5,222 persons and killing 377 other.
U.S. statistics show that in 2005, head-on crashes were only 2.0% of all crashes, yet accounted for 10.1% of U.S. fatal crashes. A common misconception is that this over-representation is because the relative velocity of vehicles travelling in opposite directions is high. While it is true that a head-on crash between two vehicles traveling at 50 mph is equivalent to a moving vehicle running into a stationary one at 100 mph, it is clear from basic Newtonian Physics that if the stationary vehicle is replaced with a solid wall or other stationary near-immovable object such as a bridge abutment, then the equivalent collision is one in which the moving vehicle is only traveling at 50 mph., except for the case of a lighter car colliding with a heavier one. The television show MythBusters performed a demonstration of this effect in a 2010 show.
In France, in the years 2017 and 2018, 2563 and 2556 head-on collisions outside built-up area outside motorways killed 536 and 545 people respectively. They represent about 16% of all the fatalities including the ones on motorways and within built-up area.
In Quebéc head-on collisions are involved in 8% of work related issues, but 23% when two vehicles are involved in rural high speed zone where the maximum speed is greater than 70 km/h.
with cable barrier, on the European route E20 near Skara, Sweden. The first median barrier installed on 1998 on a 2+1 road helped to avoid many head-on collisions
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 and median barriers to prevent crossover incidents. Median barriers are physical barriers between the lanes of traffic, such as concrete barriers or cable barriers. 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 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. of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices describes how such signs should be placed on American highways.
Head on collision does not need a car to be involved, for instance, the Puisseguin road crash was between a truck and a coach.

Sideswipe collisions

Sideswipe collisions are where the sides of two vehicles travelling in the same or opposite directions touch. They differ from head-on collisions only in that one 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.