CD-ROM Detailing Auto Trauma Cases Available To Auto Safety Researchers From NHTSA

NHTSA
April 12, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NHTSA 20-01
Thursday, April 12, 2001
Contact: NHTSA, Tim Hurd, (202) 366-9550

The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today announced the availability of a computer CD-ROM containing summaries of 400 motor vehicle trauma cases investigated by nine Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) Centers around the country.

CIREN was established in 1996 and is a multi-center research program involving clinicians and engineers in hospitals, universities, industry, and government. CIREN's mission is to improve the treatment and rehabilitation of motor vehicle crash injuries and to prevent and reduce deaths, disabilities, and human and economic costs of highway crashes.

Nine Level 1 Trauma Centers are linked together through a computer network associated with this research program. Level 1 Trauma Centers are traditionally teaching institutions associated with a university. Of these existing centers, seven are funded by NHTSA, one by Mercedes-Benz, and one by Ford. Together, they are studying crashes, injuries, and treatments to improve processes and outcomes. Researchers can review data and share expertise, which could lead to the design of safer vehicles.

Each center collects detailed crash and medical data on approximately 50 motor vehicle crashes per year. After the necessary coding and quality control takes place, the information is added to a database on the computer network linking the centers. The CIREN database, as currently configured, consists of multiple discrete fields of data concerning these crashes, including crash reconstruction and medical injury profiles. Personal and location identifiers and highly sensitive medical information have been removed from the public files to protect patient confidentiality.

There are about 133 cases, extending back to 1996, for which coding and quality control have been completed, and these are now available for viewing at the NHTSA public access workstation. Additional cases will be released to the public as they become available. The CIREN website is expected to contain 600 cases by Sept. 30, 2001.

The CD-ROM also contains a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet of selected variables that can be used to narrow a search. These variables were selected to provide a range of search capabilities that should prove helpful to auto safety investigators and medical researchers. The CD-ROM can be purchased for $57 from the National Crash Analysis Center, 20101 Academic Way, Suite 203, Ashburn, VA 20147. The telephone number is (703) 726-8236 and the fax number is (703) 726-8358.

In addition, a public access workstation has been established in Room 6220 of the Department of Transportation Headquarters, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, D.C. 20590, for people wishing to view completed CIREN cases in more detail. (The cases available through the workstation represent a subset of those on the CD-ROM, although they contain more detail.) The information available for viewing is expected to increase weekly, as more cases are added to the CIREN database. The workstation is available by appointment only, Monday thru Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST by contacting Donna Stemski at 202-366-5662. After April 15, 2001, completed cases may also be viewed conveniently on the CIREN web site, at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/include/bio_and_trauma/ciren-final.htm

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