Data Systems
In order to plan effective safety policy and treatments, there is a requirement for reliable and accurate data on crashes.
This information can be used to
Data relevant to road safety are collected from a number of different sources including police reports and hospital admissions. This data can then be coded and entered on to a computerized database system.
Summary information on deaths and injuries (and in some instances, non-injury crashes) can be used to determine the scale of the safety problem in an area, country or region. However, more detailed information is required in order to determine the causes of crashes, and from this, the types of solutions that might be applied to address these problems. A variety of information is typically collected in the event of a crash. This might include location details, severity, driver factors (such as age of driver and passengers), vehicle factors, road environment factors (e.g. whether the crash occurred at an intersection, the types of road features present, weather conditions etc.) and contributory factors to the crash (e.g. speed, alcohol).
Examination of this detailed information can help identify key factors in crash causation, information that is critical in planning road safety actions. Details of crashes at specific locations can also be used to plan engineering based solutions and enforcement initiatives.
A good practice manual has been released to provide practical guidance on establishing data systems, and this provides excellent guidance on
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Centre and edge delineation helps drivers judge their position on the road and provide advice about conditions ahead.
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