DaimlerChrysler Commits up to $2.5M For Funding of Crash Research
20 April 1999
DaimlerChrysler AG Commits up to $2.5 Million For Funding of Crash Research Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., April 20 -- The United States Department of
Transportation today announced that DaimlerChrysler AG (DCAG) has committed up
to $2.5 million in funding for the country's eighth Crash Injury Research and
Engineering Network (CIREN) center, to be established at the University of
Alabama at Birmingham's trauma facility.
To advance research on the causes of auto-related injuries and casualties,
DCAG, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc. (MBUSI) and Mercedes-Benz USA,
Inc. (MBUSA) have jointly committed $1 million in funding for the new CIREN
center during the next two years. The companies have also pledged $1.5
million a year in optional underwriting for an additional three years. MBUSI
is the Alabama-based manufacturing company of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class sport
utility vehicle. MBUSA is the New Jersey-based marketing company for all
Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the U.S. Both are wholly-owned subsidiaries of
DCAG.
Known as "The Mercedes-Benz CIREN Center at the University of Alabama at
Birmingham," the new facility will focus on the analysis and prevention of car
crashes in the rapidly increasing geriatric population. It is due to start
operations later this year.
Created in 1996 by the Department of Transportation's National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), CIREN involves a unique collaboration
of medical practitioners, engineers and other related professionals. CIREN's
mission is to reduce the severity of injuries and gain a better understanding
of crash dynamics, to reduce death, disabilities and human and economic costs.
"We are delighted to be a supporter and partner in the highly innovative
and vital CIREN program, which uses state-of-the-art technology, along with
medical insights, to help reduce auto fatalities and injuries," said Joe
Eberhardt, Vice-President Marketing for MBUSA. "We are particularly delighted
that the newest CIREN center will be located in Alabama where our successful
M-Class plant is based."
NHTSA already directs seven CIREN centers throughout the United States.
However, the University of Alabama at Birmingham center is the first to be
underwritten voluntarily by one of NHTSA's private sector partners.
"It is exciting to be part of this dynamic program, which is proving
invaluable in the quest to gain life-saving insights through the review of
crash and injury data and shared expertise," said Dr. Loring W. Rue, III,
Director of the Trauma Program at UAB Hospital.
Designed to augment data developed through the use of simulated crash
situations involving dummies, the CIREN centers analyze real-world incidents
to discover more about the specific causes of crashes. CIREN centers are
linked by a computer network that allows researchers to review crash and
injury data and share their expertise.
"Safety is President Clinton's highest transportation priority and CIREN's
expansion is evidence of our continuing efforts to improve safety on America's
highways," said Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater. "Though less than
three years old, this network is already generating crucial information on
safety risks."
The CIREN program was originated and launched by Ricardo Martinez, M.D.,
administrator of NHTSA, part of the U.S. Transportation Department. "We've
seen already that CIREN has created a healthy dialogue between the medical
community and manufacturers. This greater understanding of what happens in
the real world will lead to better designs for safety," Dr. Martinez said.
A key focus of CIREN is to discover ways to prevent severe injuries to
crash victims -- people who wouldn't have lived a decade or more ago but now
survive crashes due to vehicle safety devices, especially the use of air bags.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System includes a Level 1
trauma center that had 1,800 admissions last year and treated 7,000 trauma-
related injuries. Its trauma facility specializes in the treatment of burns,
as well as head injuries. The University also is home to one of the nation's
10 Injury Control Research Centers.
CIREN centers work closely with one another, as well as local emergency
medical services and police, to improve triage for critically injured crash
victims. Data generated by CIREN are shared within the medical community
through journal articles and presentations. The network's findings are also
used by automotive engineers seeking to design vehicles to reduce injuries.
NHSTA now funds four CIREN Centers: the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma
Center, Baltimore, Maryland; the University of Medicine & Dentistry/New Jersey
Medical School, Newark, New Jersey; the Children's National Medical Center,
Washington, DC; and the Lehman Injury Research Center/University of Miami
School of Medicine, Miami, Florida.
Three additional CIREN Centers are funded through the General Motors
Settlement Agreement: the University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor,
Michigan; the Harborview Injury Prevention Center, Seattle, Washington; and
the San Diego County Trauma System, San Diego, California.
Research findings and other information on CIREN can be found within
NHTSA's Web site http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/bio_and_trauma/ciren-final.htm
For an electronic version of the release, go to http://www.mbusi.com