National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Evaluation Program Plan, Calendar Years 2004-2007

摘要

This four-year plan presents and discusses the vehicle and behavioral programs, regulations, technologies and related areas NHTSA proposes to evaluate, and it summarizes the findings of past evaluations. Depending on scope, evaluations typically take a year or substantially more, counting initial planning, contracting for support, OMB clearance for surveys, data collection, analysis, internal review, approvals, publication, review of public comments, and the last phase of preparing recommendations for subsequent agency action: A few evaluations based on relatively simple analyses of existing data (FARS, NASS) can be completed within a year$ many evaluations involve fairly complex statistical analyses of existing data and require closer to two years from start to finish, including all planning and reviews$ at least two and up to four years are needed if new data must be collected by a contractor$ the longer time applies if survey data require additional clearances$ and long-term evaluations involving several phases as technologies evolve or that call for periodic follow-up studies can take five years or more. Most of NHTSA's crashworthiness and several crash avoidance standards have been evaluated at least once since 1975. A number of consumer-oriented regulations, e.g., bumpers, theft protection, fuel economy and NCAP also have been evaluated. So have promising safety technologies that were not mandatory under Federal regulations, such as antilock brake systems for passenger vehicles. The plan for calendar years 2004-2007 includes evaluations of new and existing vehicle and behavioral safety programs, regulations, technologies and consumer information programs. Vehicle safety evaluations address crash avoidance, crashworthiness/aggressiveness, damage protection (bumpers), and recalls. They study passenger cars, light trucks, heavy trucks, motorcycles and low-speed on-road vehicles. Behavioral safety evaluations address impaired driving, occupant protection, motorcycle safety, speeding, enforcement, and emergency care (injury survivability).