Jeep probe casts doubt on NHTSA data

WASHINGTON -- The federal safety investigation of 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees is flawed by gaps in data collection that may hamper all U.S. probes of deadly fire crashes, a consumer group says.

The Center for Auto Safety, whose research spurred the ongoing Jeep Grand Cherokee inquiry, says government fire-crash data on which many investigations are based often are incomplete and unreliable.

These allegations are supported in an independent study last year by a former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration official who found evidence of widespread undercounting in the agency's fire-crash figures.

NHTSA declined comment last week on the group's criticism.

The agency has been considering a recall of 3 million Jeep Grand Cherokees, which would be among the largest in recent years.

Chrysler says the fuel tanks on the Jeep Grand Cherokees aren't defective and do not pose an unreasonable risk.

The consumer group says the Jeep Grand Cherokees' exposed gasoline tank has exploded into flames in 44 crashes and rollovers, causing 64 deaths.

NHTSA began the formal probe in August after its preliminary review found that the fuel tank may have been linked to 22 crashes resulting in fires, and 14 deaths -- half the fire-related accidents and a quarter of the deaths reported by the center.

The agency said at the time that its preliminary review did not find the Jeep Grand Cherokee has a disproportionate number of fire-related accidents in comparison with similar models of other automakers.

"The NHTSA probe is fatally flawed if it relies on its own data alone," Clarence Ditlow, the group's executive director, said last week. "This is an egregious defect, one of the worst of all time.''

In October, Ditlow sent a letter telling NHTSA of four Jeep Grand Cherokee fire-crash deaths that were not in the agency's database.

The consumer group says it based its findings on accident photos, coroner reports, death certificates, police reports and lawsuits.

"Chrysler believes this investigation should be closed," company spokesman Michael Palese said.

"The 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee meets or exceeds all applicable federal safety standards."

The fuel tank on 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees is behind the rear axle, below the rear bumper, the group said.

When DaimlerChrysler owned the Jeep brand, it moved and shielded the fuel tank, starting with 2005 models.

At issue between the group and regulators is the reliability of the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System, in which state employees and contractors report the causes of deadly accidents to NHTSA.

These local analysts are supposed to review police reports, death certificates, and other documents, NHTSA says.

NHTSA investigators rely on the data to determine if accident and death rates for the models under investigation are egregious and suggest the need for a recall.

Since 1997, some independent investigations have found a large disparity in the fatal fire-crash rates reported by various states.

These differences are explained by many states' reliance on police reports alone, according to a recent study by the nonprofit Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation.

The problem with police reports is that they often fail to reflect whether fire was a cause of injury or death, according to the study.

The October 2009 study was led by James Fell, who headed FARS oversight for NHTSA in the 1980s and now works for the Pacific Institute.

The study called for state data collectors to rely more heavily on death certificates, coroner reports and other documents to supplement police reports.

"There is good evidence that fire occurrence is underreported in FARS," the study said.

Fell, who has conducted FARS training workshops for NHTSA employees in recent years, worked at NHTSA from 1969 to 1999.

He said last week that the federal agency "is doing everything it can to improve fire-crash reporting."

NHTSA said last week it has been trying to upgrade FARS, which was started in 1975, "to enhance capture of fire occurrence."

It reported a number of significant improvements aimed at making the various state and federal systems more compatible.

But NHTSA said it still faces challenges because each state has its own systems of police reporting and for making related documents available to FARS analysts.

Said the agency: "There is a specific need for continuous training in order to maintain the consistency, accuracy and reliability of this national data set."