NCJ Number
195911
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 69 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2002 Pages: 42-43,46
Editor(s)
Charles E. Higginbotham
Date Published
July 2002
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes the development and implementation of Kentucky’s Collision Report and Analysis for Safer Highways (CRASH) system, a statewide system to collect accurate and timely traffic collision data and data accessibility.
Abstract
States nationwide have experienced difficulty in capturing traffic collision data for reasons ranging from the existing form’s inability to capture all the needed information to the data was inaccessible by those who needed it. To address this issue, the Kentucky State Police and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) decided to design and develop a process and application that could be used to collect accurate and timely traffic collision data and provide information access to those necessary groups. The Collision Report and Analysis for Safer Highways (CRASH) was designed to accommodate these needs. The CRASH system offers a single centralized source for the capture and access of all traffic collision information in the State of Kentucky. The traffic collision information can be submitted to the central repository in three ways: paper collision report; electronic collision report; and RMS collision report. Several mechanisms were created to allow different types of access to the collision data: document query; statistical query; reports; and extracts. CRASH also incorporates numerous technologies providing faster, more accurate, and more timely capture of collision information. The CRASH system was employed to implement a directed patrol program aimed at identifying and reducing traffic incidents. Future CRASH capabilities will include: barcode scanning of driver licenses; automated population and validation of commercial vehicle information; vehicle identification number lookup and validation; and GIS mapping functionality.