A REVIEW OF CRASH DATA ANALYSIS IN A DEFECT AND RECALL INVESTIGATION OF THE GENERAL MOTORS C/K PICKUP TRUCKS

In the process of assessing the safety of the fuel-containment system of the 1973-1987 General Motors C/K truck, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and General Motors Corporation (GMC) have written and submitted numerous documents to a public file between October 1992 and April 1993. Five substantial reports have been issued by the NHTSA and GMC describing data analysis of crashes recorded on state and federal databases. Both the NHTSA and GMC have used crash data, in some cases the same data, to examine the claim that a defect in the fuel system design of GMC C/K trucks poses an unreasonable risk of death or injury. The comparative analysis presented in this paper demonstrates how crash databases and their summary statistics can be used to support opposed positions in a safety dispute. Understanding differences in the analysis is fundamental to obtaining an insight into the role of field crash data, including its relevance and shortcomings, in defect and recall investigations.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00014575
• Corporate Authors:

  Elsevier

  The Boulevard, Langford Lane
  Kidlington, Oxford  United Kingdom  OX5 1GB
• Authors:
  • Hubele, N F
  • ARNDT, M W
• Publication Date: 1996-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 33-42
• Serial:
  • Accident Analysis & Prevention
  • Volume: 28
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0001-4575
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00014575

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash injury research; Data analysis; Defects; Fuel systems; Mathematical analysis; Pickup trucks; Recall campaigns
• Identifier Terms: General Motors Corporation; U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Subject Areas: Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00716338
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-041 959
• Files: HSL, TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 6 1996 12:00AM