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Motor vehicle accident databases provide valuable safety information about the real world crash experience for millions of motor vehicles. The associated research often requires specific information about vehicle characteristics derived from the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). The complicated process of large-scale VIN decoding is made easier with software that identifies specific make, model and other characteristics. Data entry errors and truncated VINs (i.e., less than 17 characters), however, pose challenges to reliable vehicle identification. A study of VIN coding requirements and data entry patterns indicates that reliable accident vehicle identification can be accomplished by supplementing VIN decoding software to systematically minimize common transcription errors and invalid characters. This process can yield reliable vehicle identification and maximize utilization of vehicle records for motor vehicle crash analysis.

Since Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 301 was first issued in 1967, many studies of collision-fires have been conducted. Most of the studies were analyses of motor vehicle crash databases providing little detailed information as to likely fuels involved in ignition, ignition sources, propagation paths and times, and injury mechanisms. This paper presents the results of case studies and preliminary findings from on-going investigations of motor vehicle collisions involving fire. Twenty one field investigations of incidents involving automobiles, pickup trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles were conducted. Three incidents have been selected for presentation to demonstrate program methodology and characteristic factors of collision-fires. Results showed that the causes and severities of collision-related fires can vary widely and depend on numerous and complex factors. Field investigations can provide a perspective usually unavailable to fire researchers.

The following study was performed to investigate the in-use emissions performance of a California TLEV equipped with components aged in customer service on an enhanced I/M test. Fuels and ambient temperature conditions were chosen to compare I/M test conditions typical for California (moderate temperature on California Phase II gasoline) to those likely to be encountered in a Northeastern state (cold temperature on Winter grade fuel). To obtain repeatable results and simulate typical customer driving prior to the test, Bag II of the FTP schedule was used to simulate urban driving to an I/M lane, followed by a variable length idle to simulate waiting for the I/M test, followed by the IM240 test.