The American Medical Association, appalled by the rising tide of deaths and injuries occasioned by the automobile and realizing that a certain undetermined percentage were due to physiological conditions, pathological states, emotional disturbances, or drugs and alcohol, appointed a committee, through its Board of Trustees, to study and report on the medical aspects of automobile crash injuries and deaths in 1955. This committee was to determine the magnitude of the problem, study the epidemiology and methods of prevention and cure primarily from a purely medical standpoint, and determine the role of the physician in obtaining these objectives.
The first endeavor of the committee was to acquaint the medical profession with these broad aspects by presenting a symposium at the 1956 meeting in Chicago. At the same time a rather comprehensive scientific exhibit was also presented. This effort was well received and many requests for reprints were received from both American