Consistency Study for Vehicle Deformation Index

In November 1970, an international program of accident investigation was undertaken by 33 teams representing nine European and North American nations. A standardized protocol was formulated for collecting vehicle damage and occupant injury data. Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), as consultant to the project leader, collected a total of 520 case reports from these teams and reduced the common data to card images for automatic processing.

The participating teams classified vehicle damage according to the Vehicle Deformation Index (VDI). A consistency study was performed to determine how well the diverse group of investigators, many with limited investigative training and/or experience, could use the VDI. One-half of the team ratings, excluding SwRI cases, compared identically with the control ratings; approximately 75% of the ratings compared identically or differed by only one character. A detailed report is made.