[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 3, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 21847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10840]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. 95-21, Notice No. 01]
Availability and Request for Comment on Draft Report to Congress
on the Benefits of Safety Belts and Motorcycle Helmets
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comment on draft report
to Congress on the benefits of safety belts and motorcycle helmets
required by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of
1991.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the draft of the
report to Congress on the benefits of safety belts and motorcycle
helmets generated from the Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES)
Project. The Report was mandated by Section 1031(b) of the Intermodal
Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). As required in
the ISTEA, the agency seeks comments on the draft report. The comments
will be evaluated and incorporated, as appropriate, into the final
report which will be provided to the Congress in February, 1996.
DATES: Comments on the draft report are due no later than August 1,
1995.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons may obtain a copy of the draft report,
free of charge, from NHTSA's Docket Section at the address below.
Written comments should refer to the docket and notice number of this
notice and should be submitted to: Docket Section, Room 5109, NASSIF
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone:
202-366-4949. Docket hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through
Friday.
SUBMISSION OF COMMENTS: Interested persons are invited to submit
comments on the draft report. It is requested, but not required, that
10 copies be submitted. All comments must not exceed 10 pages in
length. (49 CFR 553.21). Necessary attachments may be appended to these
submissions without regard to the 10 page limit. This limitation is
intended to encourage commenters to detail their arguments in a concise
fashion. All comments received before the close of business on the
comment closing date indicated above for the draft report will be
considered, and will be available for examination in the docket at the
above address both before and after that date. To the extent possible,
comments filed after the closing date also will be considered. Those
persons desiring to be notified upon receipt of their comments in the
docket should enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the
envelope with their comments. Upon receiving the comments, the docket
supervisor will return the postcard by mail.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Dennis Utter, National Center for Statistics and Analysis NRD-31,
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20590: Telephone 202-366-5351.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Report to Congress on the benefits of
safety belts and motorcycle helmets was mandated by Section 1031(b) of
the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA).
Grants were awarded to entities in Hawaii, Maine, Missouri, New York,
Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wisconsin to obtain the data and perform the
analyses upon which this report is based. NHTSA entitled the project
the Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES) Project. These CODES
grantee states linked statewide motor vehicle crash report data and
computerized emergency medical service, emergency department, hospital
discharge, and rehabilitative/long-term care data, so that those people
injured in motor vehicle crashes could be followed through the health
care system. The medical and financial outcome information was then
used to determine the benefits of the protective devices in crashes.
The grantees have provided NHTSA with the results of analyses using
these data, and NHTSA has summarized the results of the individual
state studies to produce the draft report to Congress. After the close
of the comment period, NHTSA will review any comments received and make
appropriate modifications to the report. The final version is to be
delivered to Congress by February, 1996.
The draft report provides an overview of the study, the databases
used, and the methodology used to link and analyze the data. The
effectiveness rates presented in the report show that safety belts are
highly effective in preventing injury and fatality in motor vehicle
traffic crashes, particularly the more serious injuries. Motorcycle
helmets also are effective in preventing fatalities and serious
injuries, but not as effective in preventing minor injuries. Average
inpatient charges are compared for belted and unbelted passenger
vehicle drivers and for helmeted and unhelmeted motorcycle riders.
Because the estimates of safety belt effectiveness are higher than
NHTSA's current estimates, a discussion is presented about the
potential effect of over-reporting of safety belt use on the study
results. However, the results support NHTSA's belief that safety belts
and motorcycle helmets are effective in reducing mortality and
morbidity and showed, for the first time, that costs (inpatient
charges) were significantly higher for unbelted hospitalized drivers
compared to those who used their safety belts.
The CODES project had other benefits. The project demonstrated the
efficacy of linking crash data files with medical outcome data files.
Through the cooperation of the highway safety and medical communities,
CODES was the first project to link state highway safety and injury-
related databases using a probabilistic linkage algorithm, whereby
statewide data from police crash reports, emergency medical services,
hospital emergency departments, hospital discharge files, claims, and
other sources were linked, without in most states the benefit of
personal identifiers. The project also showed examples of the value of
the linked data. Several of the CODES states have used their data to
support highway safety initiatives and to produce research articles.
Because the linked data are permanent and state specific, they can
continue to be used now and in the future at minimal cost to support
state and local highway safety initiatives.
Issued On: April 27, 1995.
Ricardo Martinez,
Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
[FR Doc. 95-10840 Filed 5-2-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-M
