Most crash reports do not capture critical data, says National Safety Council

A National Safety Council review of motor vehicle crash reports from across the US found no state fully captures critical data needed to address and understand the rise in roadway fatalities. Crash reports from all 50 states lack fields or codes for law enforcement to record the level of driver fatigue at the time of a crash, while many others lack fields to capture texting, hands-free cell phone use and specific types of drug use if drugs are detected, including marijuana. Excluding these fields limits the
April 25, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
A 4953 National Safety Council review of motor vehicle crash reports from across the US found no state fully captures critical data needed to address and understand the rise in roadway fatalities. Crash reports from all 50 states lack fields or codes for law enforcement to record the level of driver fatigue at the time of a crash, while many others lack fields to capture texting, hands-free cell phone use and specific types of drug use if drugs are detected, including marijuana. Excluding these fields limits the ability to effectively address these problems, says the report.


States are also failing to capture teen driver restrictions, the use of advanced driver assistance technologies and of infotainment systems. The findings are summarised in the new NSC report, Undercounted is Underinvested: How incomplete crash reports impact efforts to save lives, released during Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
   
Preliminary estimates from the National Safety Council indicate as many as 40,000 people died in car crashes in 2016, marking a six per cent increase over 2015 and a 14 per cent increase over 2014 – the most dramatic two-year escalation since 1964. Without a clear understanding of the scope of the problem, regulations, laws and policies cannot be more effective.

The National Safety Council is calling on the traffic safety community to take several actions to ensure better data collection and has compiled a full list of recommendations, which is available on its website.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Lack of progress in reducing drink-drive deaths has gone on too long says IAM RoadSmart
    February 3, 2017
    The UK’s independent road safety charity IAM RoadSmart has expressed disappointment in yet another year of no significant change in the levels of drink-driving in Britain, based on new Government statistics just announced. The Department for Transport announced that provisional estimates for 2015 show 220 deaths in alcohol related crashes. Some 1,380 people were killed or seriously injured when at least one driver was over the limit. This represents a statistically significant rise from 1,310 in 2014. In
    Read More
  • NHTSA opens investigation into fatal Tesla crash
    July 1, 2016
    The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a preliminary investigation into a fatal crash involving a Tesla autonomous car in Florida. According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, the 40-year-old driver was killed when his 2015 Model S drove under the trailer of an 18-wheel truck. In a blog post on the crash, which happened in early May, Tesla said “the vehicle was on a divided highway with Autopilot engaged when a tractor trailer drove across the highway perpendicular to t
    Read More
  • Florida red-light camera intersections show reduction in crashes, says report
    January 6, 2017
    According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles' (DHSMV) fifth annual report on red-light safety cameras, intersections equipped with the technology are challenging a state-wide trend. While overall crashes state-wide have increased by 33 per cent from 2012-2015, crashes specifically related to red-light running at red-light safety camera intersections have decreased by more than three per cent. There is also a reduction in crashes at red-light safety camera intersections involvi
    Read More
  • New research finds distracted driving on the rise on I-95
    May 12, 2014
    Transurban-Fluor and AAA Mid-Atlantic have released the second annual report on distracted drivers on I-95 in Northern Virginia, which found that despite major construction, distracted driving is a growing problem on the heavily travelled corridor. The report, part of the Orange Cones, No Phones campaign focused on reducing distracted driving in the 95 Express Lanes construction zone, found that the number of frequent I-95 drivers likely to use their cell phone while driving has increased from 56 percent i
    Read More

Highlighted Content