DOI: 10.3886/e237532
title: Crash Investigation Sampling System

description: <b>What It Is</b><br>The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has collected crash 
data since the early 1970s to support its mission to reduce motor 
vehicle crashes, injuries, and deaths on our Nation’s highways. NHTSA’s 
crash data collection program consists of the Crash Investigation 
Sampling System, the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, the Crash 
Report Sampling System, Special Crash Investigations, Non-Traffic 
Surveillance, the Crash Injury Research & Engineering Network, and 
special studies conducted to address various safety topics. The CISS 
builds on the retiring, long running National Automotive Sampling System
 Crashworthiness Data System. CISS collects detailed crash data to help 
scientists and engineers analyze motor vehicle crashes and injuries. 
CISS collects data on a representative sample of minor, serious, and 
fatal crashes involving at least one motor vehicle in transport on a 
trafficway.<b></b><b>How It Works</b>
 
 
 
 <br>After a crash has been sampled, trained Crash 
Technicians obtain data from crash sites by documenting scene evidence 
such as skid marks, fluid spills, and struck objects. They locate the 
vehicles involved, document the crash damage and identify interior 
components that were contacted by the occupants. On-site inspections are
 followed-up with confidential interviews of the crash victims and a 
review of medical records for injuries sustained in the crash. CISS uses
 emerging technologies and methods to acquire quality data.<br>The Crash Technicians are interested only in information that will help them understand the nature and outcome of the crashes.<br>Personal
 information such as names, addresses, license and registration numbers,
 and even specific crash locations are not included in public CISS 
files.

 
 
<br><b>Sampling</b><br>CISS randomly selects thousands of police crash reports at law 
enforcement agencies in selected areas across the country. The areas 
reflect the geography, population, miles driven, and crashes in the 
United States. To be eligible for the CISS sample, a crash must involve 
at least one towed passenger vehicle.<br><b>Cooperation</b><b><br></b>CISS depends on the participation and cooperation of law enforcement 
agencies, hospitals, physicians, medical examiners, coroners, insurance 
companies, salvage facilities, tow yard operators, repair shops, and the
 people involved in crashes.<br>Cooperation from law enforcement agencies enables CISS to list and 
select crashes to be studied. Police crash reports – which provide key 
information on the location of the crash, the vehicles involved, and 
where the injured were taken for medical care – are obtained and treated
 as confidential documents. Law enforcement agencies also permit access 
to certain roadways and crashed vehicles.<br>NHTSA is recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services as a 
Public Health Authority, allowing the medical community to provide 
access to its records. Medical records are the primary source of data on
 the nature and severity of injuries.<br>Tow yards, repair facilities, and impound lots provide access to damaged
 vehicles. CISS Crash Technicians photograph vehicles at these sites, 
measure vehicle damage, document safety systems, and record the sources 
of occupant injury.<br>Confidential interviews with victims who were involved in crashes 
provide crash details, insights into how crashes occur, the extent of 
injuries, treatment received, safety system performance, and work time 
lost.<br>Collectively, information from these sources provides a detailed picture
 of a crash – from just before the crash through medical care received 
by the injured.<br><b>How the Information Is Used</b><br><br>The data collected by the CISS field teams is used by NHTSA and others for a variety of purposes:Identifying existing and emerging highway safety problems.Obtaining detailed crash performance data for passenger vehicles, including the vehicle safety systems and designs.Learning
 more about the nature of crash-related injuries and the relationship 
between the type and severity of a crash and the resulting injuries.Assessing the effectiveness of motor vehicle standards and highway safety programs.After all personal identifiers are removed, information collected by 
CISS is made available to other Federal agencies; state and local 
governments; universities; research institutions; automobile, trucking, 
and insurance industries; and the general public.<br><br><br>
description: CISS randomly selects thousands of police crash reports at law 
enforcement agencies in selected areas across the country. The areas 
reflect the geography, population, miles driven, and crashes in the 
United States. To be eligible for the CISS sample, a crash must involve 
at least one towed passenger vehicle.<br>