Since 1972, NCSA's Special Crash Investigation (SCI) Program has provided NHTSA with the most in depth and detailed level of crash investigation data collected by the agency. The data collected ranges from basic data contained in routine police and insurance crash reports to comprehensive data from special reports by professional crash investigation teams. Hundreds of data elements relevant to the vehicle, occupants, injury mechanisms, roadway, and safety systems involved are collected for each of the over 200 crashes designated for study annually.

SCI cases are intended to be an anecdotal data set useful for examining special crash circumstances or outcomes from an engineering perspective. The benefit of this program lies in its ability to locate unique real-world crashes anywhere in the country, and perform in depth clinical investigations in a timely manner which can be utilized by the automotive safety community to improve the performance of its state-of-the-art safety systems. Individual and select groups of cases have triggered both individual companies and the industry as a whole to improve the safety performance of motor vehicles, including passenger cars, light trucks, or school buses.

 
Introduction to Special Crash Investigations (SCI) - PDF format

Introduction to Special Crash Investigation (SCI) - html format
 

Case Selection

• Any occupant in a seat position protected by a deployed air bag receives a severe, life threatening, or fatal injury.
• A pregnant occupant in a seat position protected by a deployed air bag receives a severe, life threatening, or fatal injury and/or injury to the fetus.
• Side mounted (in the door or door frame) air bag deployment into an occupied seating position.
• Any air bag deployment in a 1998 or newer vehicle.

• 24 hour voice mail - Washington DC area (202) 366-2545
• Nationwide toll-free notification 1-877-201-3172
• 24 hour fax (202) 366-5374
• SCI fax back form
• NEW EMAIL ADDRESS! PLEASE UPDATE AS NECESSARY. - sci.@nhtsa.dot.gov

Cases of interest are located from an extensive and diverse network of sources, including NHTSA's Auto Safety Hotline, the Department of Transportation's National Crash Alert System, NHTSA's regional offices, automotive manufacturers, other government agencies, law enforcement agencies, engineers, and medical personnel.

Actual case selection is based on the program manager's discretion. The program's flexibility allows for the detailed investigation of any new emerging technologies, including the safety performance of alternative fueled vehicles, child safety restraints, adapted vehicles, safety belts, vehicle-pedestrian interactions, and potential safety defects. Historically, resources have been concentrated on crashes involving automatic restraints (air bags and safety belts), and school buses.
 
 

Data Collection

Professional crash investigators obtain data and photographs from crash sites, which includes studying- evidence such as skid marks, gouges, fluid spills, and broken glass. They locate the vehicles involved, photograph them, measure the crash damage, and identify interior locations that were contacted by the occupants. The investigators follow up their on-site investigations by interviewing crash victims and other involved parties, and by reviewing medical records to determine the nature and severity of injuries.

Interviews are conducted with discretion and are held confidential. The research teams are interested only in information that will help them understand the nature and consequences of the crashes. Personal information about individuals, such as names, addresses, license numbers, and even specific crash locations, are not included in any public SCI file. Each investigation provides extensive information about pertinent pre-crash, crash, and post-crash events involving the occupants, vehicles, rescue, and environmental factors which may have contributed to the event's occurrence or severity. Included in each report is an analysis and determination of the occupant kinematics and vehicle dynamics as they occurred throughout the crash. Detailed performance evaluations of the air bag and any other safety features (particularly those related to any of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) are provided.

The participation and cooperation of automotive manufacturers, suppliers, law enforcement agencies, hospitals, physicians, medical examiners, coroners, tow yard operators, and the individuals involved in crashes are essential to the success of the SCI program.

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