Nonprofit of the Week: Center for Injury Research

Source: Center for Injury Research Santa Barbara

The Center for Injury Research seeks to provide the public with the resources to make informed decisions about potential vehicle purchases with an awareness of what’s important to know. The nonprofit engages in research projects to evaluate the forces and injury potential to occupants in automobile crashes through data analysis and vehicle testing.

The World Health Organization estimates that globally 1.3 million people die annually in vehicular crashes. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 3,481,925 Americans died in vehicular crashes from 1899 through 2009, which is 10 times the combined number of fatalities in all of our wars. In addition to the 30,000 annual occupant fatalities in the U.S., there are tens of thousands of serious-to-fatal injuries, all of which add up to the $350 billion social cost of vehicular accidents. 

A shocking statistic: One third of all crash fatalities in the U.S. occur from rollover crashes! At present rollover fatalities occur at a rate six times those of frontal crashes and three times the rate of serious injuries in any other crash. In addition to those fatalities, there are three times as many catastrophic injuries in rollover crashes. Rollover casualties have increased steadily since the introduction of the SUV in 1989. Now with the greater use of SUV’s and light trucks as passenger vehicles the danger continues to grow.

The non-profit Center for Injury Research has been directly supporting NHTSA’s efforts to reduce injuries and fatalities in rollovers since 2001 with extensive relevant data submissions of our own privately funded research. Visit the Center for Injury Research website to learn more.