FEDERAL CRASH DATABASES: SHIFTING THE PARADIGM THE LARGE TRUCK CRASH CAUSATION STUDY

This paper discusses how the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the United States Department of Transportation are conducting a three-year nationwide study of the reasons for truck crashes. The Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) will determine contributing factors in fatal and serious injury truck crashes. This will allow FMCSA and NHTSA to implement more effective crash countermeasures. The LTCCS is important in its own right. However, its greatest impact may be in beginning the shift of federal highway safety databases. Currently all major national crash databases focus on the collection of descriptive data. In the future they may focus more on the pre-crash reasons, related factors, and causes that lead to crashes.