[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]
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