NHTSA Released Its Latest Data

Care for Crash Victims, an advocacy project for the betterment of automobile and highway safety, recently announced that NHTSA released its latest data in two different publications.

Care for Crash Victims, an advocacy project for the betterment of automobile and highway safety, recently announced that NHTSA released its latest data in two different publications.

The first is titled “Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for the First Nine Months (Jan-Sep) of 2015” (DOT HS 812 240). This document provides a “statistical projection of traffic fatalities for the first nine months of 2015.” The report estimates that 26,000 people lost their lives in motor vehicle traffic accidents in that time period. This is an estimated increase of 9.3% when compared to the same time period in 2014. During the first nine months of 2014, there were and estimated 23,796 deaths.

The second document is titled simply “Quick Facts 2014 (DOT HS 812 234).” The purpose of this document is to provide a quick reference sheet covering the most commonly asked questions relating to motor vehicle traffic accidents and fatalities.

Louis Lombardo, the founder of Care for Crash Victims, is a former NHTSA scientist. Mr. Lombardo founded the project after his 2007 retirement. He is the co-author of several papers, posters and presentations on various crash-related subjects. He is also a strong proponent of improving motor vehicle and traffic safety. And, he is somewhat critical of his former employer’s efforts in that area.

In his announcement of the NHTSA documents release, he cautioned readers to “keep in mind NHTSA statistics tend to under count fatalities,” and cited a blog post on the Care for Crash Victims website. That post revealed some chilling information. It begins with the tragic story of the death of an officer.

“Victim Dies A Year After Crash

The recent tragic death of a crash victim highlights how NHTSA ignores thousands of crash deaths each year.

‘An MTA officer succumbed Monday to injuries he suffered when he was struck last year by a car on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the agency said.

Thomas Choi, 62, is the first officer to die in the line of duty in the 81-year history of MTA Bridges and Tunnels, also known as the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority.

Choi was struck when he was removing barrels while reopening the Brooklyn-bound lower level of the bridge on Oct. 20, 2013. The lower level of the bridge is closed on weekends from midnight until about 8 a.m.

He was treated at Staten Island University Hospital and Seaview Rehabilitation Center but never regained consciousness, the MTA said.’”

The post goes on to describe how NHTSA would – or would not, in this case – count Officer Choi’s death in its statistics.

“NHTSA Does Not Count Such Crash Deaths

Would this Officer’s death be counted by NHTSA in FARS 2013 files when the crash occurred, or in the 2014 files when this Officer died a year later?

The answer from NHTSA is that in neither year would his death of crash injuries be counted. NHTSA only counts deaths of crash injured people if they die within 30 days of the crash.

So how many crash victims die after 30 days and are not counted by NHTSA? The National Safety Council estimates that about 800 – 1,000 crash victims die of their “in traffic” injuries more than 30 days after the crash.”

I understand Mr. Lombardo’s frustration with these statistics. The “short count” of such important information lessens, in a way, any urgency with which the appropriate authorities (NHTSA, Congress, etc.) address motor vehicle and traffic safety.

And that leaves us all a little less safe out there.