GM, CDC Plan Crash Data Study

General Motors’ OnStar unit and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plan a joint study aimed at aiding early evaluation of vehicle accident victims.

Officials of the CDC say data could save lives by identifying people who are more seriously injured than they seem, described as a frequent problem in car crashes, the Detroit Free-Press reported from Washington.

Funded by a $250,000 grant from the GM Foundation, the study will attempt to establish guidelines based on OnStar’s measurement of a crash’s severity.

Readings will require the most advanced form of OnStar’s technology, which the company says can alert advisers when a vehicle gets into any accident above a certain threshold, even one in which the air bags don’t fire.