Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death in the United States and Texas. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were a reported 38,659 deaths in the United States and 3,766 deaths in Texas due to motor vehicle crashes (1). Unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes, are the third leading cause of death in the United States (2). Of these unintentional injury fatalities, the second leading cause is unintentional motor vehicle crashes (2).
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a Traffic Records Program Assessment Advisory, which highlights the importance of high-quality crash data, as the data helps with safety programming, strategic planning, and identifying and evaluating countermeasures (2). Incorrect or incomplete records could adversely impact the identification of top problems and countermeasures to address them including the direction of enforcement efforts. The allocation of other resources could also be misdirected, thus reducing the impact of safety efforts. This project addresses a gap in currently funded projects and approaches to improving crash reporting in Texas through identifying barriers to accurate and complete reporting and then developing training materials.
All materials are publicly available and printed copies can be obtained by emailing Eva Shipp.
Roll Call Video
Importance of Crash Reporting Roll Call Video Guidance
Resources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). CDC Wonder. Retrieved from: https://wonder.cdc.gov/
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Ten Leading Causes of Death and Injury. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/LeadingCauses.html