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

  • Making cars safer for vulnerable road users
    June 2, 2016
    Richard Cuerden considers measures to improve the safety of vulnerable road users. The competitive nature of the car market has seen an increase in protection for those travelling inside the vehicle and this is reflected in the casualty statistics -but the same does not apply to those outside the vehicle. And with current societal trends such as ageing populations, an increasing number of pedestrians and cyclists encouraged by environmental policies, this is an area that authorities such as the European Uni
    Read More
  • Groups seek electronic collision alert devices on big trucks
    February 20, 2015
    The US Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Truck Safety Coalition, the Center for Auto Safety and Road Safe America have filed a petition with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requesting that the agency initiate rulemaking to require forward collision avoidance and mitigation braking (F-CAM) systems on all new large trucks and buses with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or more. F-CAM technology uses radar and sensors to first alert the driver and then t
    Read More
  • AVs could make driving ‘more dangerous’: report
    May 23, 2018
    Automated vehicles (AVs) could make driving more dangerous – that is the stark suggestion from a new report by the International Transport Forum (ITF). The report - Safer Roads with Automated Vehicles? – casts doubt on claims that 90% of road deaths could be avoided because the introduction of AVs would eliminate human error. ITF says such claims are at best “untested”.
    Read More
  • Moody’s: Burden of infrastructure spending increasingly falling on US states
    January 24, 2017
    Repairing or replacing aging transportation infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, will require US states to shoulder additional cost burdens since federal funding has stagnated over the last 20 years, Moody’s Investors Service says in a new report. States with large maintenance burdens and backlogs will face budgetary challenges in meeting these needs. US federal highway aid has seen little growth from fiscal 2009-15 and is projected to remain flat when adjusted for inflation through fiscal 2020. Th
    Read More

Highlighted Content