The New York Times reports that in Sweden, Volvo has “dispatched its own crash-scene investigators since the early 1970s.” The automaker is “not alone in sending investigators to crash sites, but it pioneered the practice.” Today, several manufacturers “take a similar approach to glean valuable real-world information on what happens to vehicles and their occupants after a crash.” Volvo “occasionally takes possession of cars for further study and may ask occupants to complete confidential questionnaires or sit for interviews.” The Times highlights the fact that “the crash data collected by Volvo and other brands has made cars safer.” The NHTSA estimates that “there were 8.41 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 1947.” That rate has “plummeted to 1.16 deaths, the latest figure available, by 2017.”
From the news release of the American Association for Justice.
