Statement on Call for Better State Data Collection

Statement for attribution to
Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) Executive Director Jonathan Adkins

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Safety Council (NSC) brings attention to the critical need for improved crash data collection with its new report Undercounted is Underinvested: How Incomplete Crash Reports Impact Efforts to Save Lives. While we differ with NSC’s assessment of the traffic crash data collection landscape, we share their desire for improvement.

GHSA and the states are committed to comprehensive crash data reporting. In fact, GHSA has partnered with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to develop and promote the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC), a minimum, standardized set of information states should be considering for every crash report. The latest edition of MMUCC, due out this summer, will include new tools to help states further improve their data collection and address emerging issues such as autonomous vehicles.

It is important to recognize that crash investigations can present complex challenges. Crash forms will always vary slightly from state to state to reflect differing state laws and unique state factors, such as climates. States confront many practical and legal barriers to identifying the role of advanced technology, such as hands-free cell phones and advanced driver assistance systems, in crashes. Police also face roadblocks accessing new kinds of in-car data, including information pulled from event data recorders or connected car systems, for crash investigation purposes. Finally, the process of revising official crash report forms is cumbersome, expensive and typically only done every five years or so. This process also requires buy-in from many state and local stakeholders. As such, the states continue to work to enhance their crash data collection tools to ensure that quality data is captured and reported in a responsible manner.

GHSA will continue to collaborate with NHTSA and state highway safety partners to further improve traffic crash data collection.

# # #

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is a nonprofit association representing the highway safety offices of states, territories, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. GHSA provides leadership and representation for the states and territories to improve traffic safety, influence national policy, enhance program management and promote best practices. Its members are appointed by their Governors to administer federal and state highway safety funds and implement state highway safety plans. Contact GHSA at 202-789-0942 or visit www.ghsa.org. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GHSAhq or follow us on Twitter @GHSAHQ.