Abstract
The original purpose of the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) was to fill a need for a standardized system for categorizing the type and severity of injuries arising from vehicular crashes. Over the years the Committee on Injury Scaling of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (formerly the American Association for Automotive Medicine), the parent body of the AIS, has modified the AIS to remain in touch with contemporary issues. Following a discussion of the origins of today's AIS, this paper discusses the philosophical basis for the AIS and addresses future challenges to the AIS. The specific tasks of the 2000 revision to the AIS are listed.