VSIRC News
18 Mar 2009Case History
VSIRC has released Version 1.2 of its acclaimed
vehicle safety research system. The latest version includes a project / case history feature that allows users to track time and
review and access prior research.
With the new history feature users create a reference ID when logging into VSIRC that links each search to a specified project or case file. Prior searches can be reloaded instantly and research histories can be emailed or printed in an easy to review table.
"The feature was designed to meet two goals" says VSIRC president, Sean Kane. "First, it allows users to produce an accounting of their research time and work on each project or case. Second, it provides an easy recall of prior research."
History features include:
- Log in and log out tracking
- Date/time stamping and summary for each search
- Lists documents and crash test videos that were opened
- Reload previous searches
- Print or e-mail a history report for each Reference ID
3 Feb 2009In the News
Plaintiffs’ lawyers are touting a new
database they hope will fuel their litigation efforts in auto product liability cases. The Vehicle Safety Information Resource Center
system has hundreds of thousands of records on U.S. vehicles, including recalls and defect investigations
Launched late last year, the Vehicle Safety Information Resource Center (VSIRC) system currently has hundreds of thousands of records on U.S. vehicles, including recalls, defect investigations, complaints and crash/ compliance tests. More
29 Jan 2009VSIRC Version 1.1 - ** Includes Foreign Recalls **
VSIRC newly released Version 1.1 now includes Foreign Recalls in its vehicle safety data system. This
addition, integrated into the VSIRC’s powerful search tools, allows users to get the most complete picture of defect issues available.
Beginning in 2001, manufacturers have reported Foreign Recalls to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as required by the TREAD Act. These include recalls of vehicles, tires, child restraints and equipment that are substantially similar to models sold in the U.S.
Searching these data and documents using government web portals is slow, arduous and incomplete. Yet, Foreign Recalls are vital to understanding vehicle defect histories, because they show which U.S. models are substantially similar to vehicles sold in foreign markets and they provide more complete recall history information.
Users can now apply the VSIRC’s advanced research tools to locating Foreign Recalls. A simple search for a U.S. model, will automatically gather Foreign Recall data and documents for the model twins or substantially similar models recalled overseas.
"Learning who knew what, where, and when on vehicle defect issues is incomplete without foreign recalls. But until now, there has never been a cost-effective and fast method to do this type of research" says Sean Kane, noted safety advocate and VSIRC's president.
For instance, a manufacturer may recall a vehicle in a foreign market well before a similar recall is issued in the U.S.
"That kind of information can become a key element in the litigation strategy of any product liability lawsuit,” says Kane.
31 Oct 2008Download Search Results
As well as searching data it is now possible to
download or export the data to a spreadsheet such as Excel. This new feature will allow the user to sort, filter and manipulate
the data in ways that are specific to their particular requirements.
23 Oct 2008New Research Tools Released by VSIRC
Search NHTSA data like you
have never searched before. VSIRC released today version 1.0 of its new online search tool. The product is a must have
for anyone doing NHTSA type searching.
The Vehicle Safety Research Information Center (VSIRC), a collaboration between Safety Research & Strategies president Sean Kane, and software developer Stephen Foley, released Version 1.0 of online research tools that provide a new level of access and search capabilities to NHTSA data and documents.
VSIRC research tools allow quick and easily retrieval of government data and documents that until now has been difficult to access and search, inaccessible through the government web portals, or no longer available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“VSIRC offers sophisticated search tools with easy-to-use interfaces that can be tailored for broad-based research or very narrow results,” Kane says. “Searching is designed to identify relevant records by using our unique mapping system that accommodates coding errors, inconsistencies, and missing information, as well as NHTSA records and documents unavailable from the agency. Our system ensures users can maximize their ability to retrieve the data and documents they need.”
Version 1.0 includes four datasets based on records and documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: Recalls, Defect Investigations, Complaints, and Crash / Compliance Tests. The second phase of VSIRC, which is currently underway, will include databases with the death, injury, and property damage claims from Early Warning Reporting data submitted by manufacturers to NHTSA.
Foley, who has worked in software development for 25 years and headed the development team for the well-known legal transcription software Livenote, says the VSIRC development has been a challenge due to the enormous amount of data which had to be sanitized and the creation of a simple interface across a complex data set, while achieving Google-like search speeds. As the product continues to evolve, he believes users will find that the VSIRC represents a vast improvement in the ease-of-use and the quality of data returned when compared to the search mechanisms offered by NHTSA.
VSIRC is a game changer, says Kane.
“Research that once took days or even weeks can be done in seconds,” he added. We anticipate that VSIRC will open new doors and improve safety research in many ways.”
