WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General is initiating an audit on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Special Crash Investigations (SCI) program, according to a news release.
Then news release notes that the audit is designed “to assess the SCI program’s selection of crashes for investigation, collection and analysis of special crash investigation data, and use of this data to improve vehicle safety.”
Auditors will also reach out to vehicle manufacturers, law enforcement agencies, insurance companies, vehicle owners, engineers, medical personnel and other government agencies as part of the process, the news release notes.
According to the NHTSA, an estimated 42,795 people died in motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2022.
To assist in its mission to save lives and prevent injuries, NHTSA created its SCI program, which the vehicle safety community can then use to improve the performance of advanced safety systems in cars, light trucks, school buses and other vehicles.
For example, the SCI program played a pivotal role in the establishment of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, which measures how effectively a passenger vehicle would protect its occupants in the event of a frontal crash.
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