Beginning in 1976, the National Highway Traffic Safety Ministration began collecting highway accident data under a study entitled the National Crash Severity Study (NCSS). This report describes the methodology for selecting potential "problem" side impact case reports from the NCSS file and the methodology for checking the cases. Cases which had grossly unexpected injury levels for a given collision severity level were reviewed. The velocity change which was mathematically calculated by the investigating team using the CRASH II computer model was checked for accuracy and corrected if in error. Common reasons for inaccurate reconstructions were summarized.
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