Our Vision - Provide the data and the analysis to allow complete understanding of:

• the nature, causes and injury outcomes of crashes and
• the strategies and interventions that will reduce crashes and their consequences.

Our Mission - In realizing our mission we:

• target the collection and analysis of data and the dissemination of information to quickly identify potential problems and support data driven decisions and
• we continuously identify, advance and promote new technologies, systems and procedures that make information more complete, accurate, timely and accessible.

Our Principles - In carrying out our mission, we adhere to the following principles:

• Sound statistical and engineering methods
• Quality assurance
• Easy public access to our data for multiple users and uses
• Protection of confidential information that is entrusted to us
• Work with and listen to stakeholders in law enforcement, states, industry, public interest groups and other DOT offices to understand and address their needs and concerns
• Provide strong support to the network of people in the field who gather the data we rely on everyday.

Overview

NCSA, an office of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an agency in the United States Department of Transportation is responsible for providing a wide range of analytical and statistical support to NHTSA and the highway safety community at large, in the general areas of:

• Human, vehicle, environmental, and roadway characteristics, as they relate to crash frequency and injuries
• Identifying injury mechanisms and associated crash dynamics in motor vehicle crashes
• Evaluating the effectiveness of crashworthiness, crash avoidance, and traffic safety efforts
• Monitoring the magnitude of the traffic safety problem
• Quantifying the benefits resulting from proposed agency rules.

NCSA is made up of three divisions (State Data Systems Reporting Division, Crash Investigation Division, Mathematical Analysis Division), all of which make a significant contribution to the overall success of meeting NCSA goals and objectives.

In addition to its own data input sources, NCSA uses data from other governmental agencies, as well as crash files from a number of states, to support analytical activities. NCSA conducts onetime and ongoing analyses on a wide range of safety issues. Examples of recent analyses include:

• Evaluation of the effectiveness of automatic occupant protection systems.
• Monitoring and describing trends in female driver fatalities.
• Analysis of the crash experience of vehicles equipped with antilock brakes.
• Evaluation of primary enforcement and other provisions of safety belt use laws.

NCSA also regularly produces a variety of fact sheets and reports which provide information on crashes at the national and state levels. Most are produced annually, and include:

• Traffic Safety Facts: A Compilation of Motor Vehicle Crash Data from the FARS and the GES
• Traffic Safety Fact Sheets
• NASS Crashworthiness Data System Report
• Alcohol Involvement in Fatal Crashes Annual Summary
• FARS monthly fatality estimates

NCSA was established in 1976.

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