Safety Data Analysis Tools Workshop

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Safety Data Analysis Tools Workshop
TRB Transportation Safety Planning Working Group

• Michael S. Griffith, Director
• FMCSA Office of Research and Analysis

2
Introduction

• Demonstrate importance of data, research, and
  analysis tools at FMCSA
• Discuss how organizations may benefit from these
  resources in their safety planning

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FMCSA Safety Goal

• Goal Reduce CMV crash fatalities on our nations
  highways to 1.65 fatalities per 100 million miles
  of truck travel by 2008
• Challenge Number of carriers and large truck
  miles traveled will increase every year with more
  new carriers coming into the business than going
  out of it
• Reality FMCSA is a small agency with limited
  resources that oversees 685,000 motor carriers
  and 7 million drivers in the industry

4
Achieving FMCSAs Safety Goal

• Latest figures indicate 2004 had lowest large
  truck fatality rate (2.29) in 30 years
• Freight volumes are expected to increase by 70 to
  100 percent by 2020
• FMCSA programs and regulations must keep pace
  with changes and growth in the trucking industry
• FMCSA continues to rely on data quality and it is
  increasing its investment in analysis, research,
  and technology programs to achieve its safety
  goal

5
Large Truck vs. Passenger Vehicle Fatality Rates
Source NHTSA (FARS for crash data) FHWA
(Highway Statistics for VMT data)
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Large Truck vs. Passenger Vehicle Fatality
Injury Rates
Source NHTSA (FARS for crash data) FHWA
(Highway Statistics for VMT data)
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Crash Statistics

• In 2004, large trucks accounted for 8 percent of
  the vehicles in fatal crashes and only 3 percent
  of the vehicles involved in injury.
• In 2004, 4,440 fatal crashes involved a large
  truck resulting in 5,190 fatalities.
• 75 percent of these cases involved at least one
  large truck and at least one passenger car.

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Data and Analysis Tools Overview
GIS Geographic Information System
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MCMIS Safety Performance Data

• MCMIS is a repository of timely, accurate and
  accessible safety performance data on active
  interstate motor carriers operating in the U.S.
• Includes data on motor carriers, hazardous
  materials shippers, and cargo tank manufacturers
  subject to the FMCSA regs and HazMat regs
• Also, covers intrastate motor carriers subject to
  their States marking requirement of the FMCSA
  USDOT number among other carriers

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MCMIS Information

• MCMIS information includes
• Carrier registration information
• Roadside inspection (brakes, tires, chassis,
  cargo, etc.) results
• Other FMCSA enforcement actions and crash
  information
• How MCMIS is used
• Maintains national carrier registration data for
  motor carriers
• Calculates safety fitness ratings
• Helps FMCSA monitor compliance with regulations

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Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS)
Recently Completed

• 967 large truck crashes resulting in at least one
  fatality or injury investigated between April
  2001 and December 2003 at 24 sites in 17 states
  by researchers from NHTSA and State truck
  inspectors.
• LTTCS closely examined contributing factors.
• LTTCS database more useful for analyzing driver
  and vehicle issues than highway design or
  operation issues.
• Not suited for evaluating factors that operate to
  increase crash probabilities across all subsets
  of crashes.

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Subset of the Results

• Critical reason Immediate reason for the event
  that immediately led to the crash.
• For two-vehicle crashes involving a truck and a
  passenger vehicle, trucks were assigned the
  critical reason in 44 percent of the cases and 56
  percent for passenger vehicles.
• Driver reasons accounted for the overwhelming
  majority of the critical reasons 88 percent for
  the trucks and 89 percent for passenger vehicles.

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Driver Issues

• Driver recognition and driver decision errors
  were the most frequently cited critical reasons
  for both types of vehicles.
• Most common factors for both classes of drivers
  Traveling too fast for conditions, making an
  illegal maneuver, legal drug use, and
  unfamiliarity with the roadway.
• Fatigue (coded twice as often for the passenger
  vehicle driver as for the truck driver)

14
State Data Quality Map

• Rates States on the relative completeness,
  accuracy, and timeliness of motor carrier crash,
  inspection, and other data submitted to FMCSA
• Publicly available

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AI Website

• AI Online (http//ai.fmcsa.dot.gov) provides
  government
• officials and the public access to safety
  information on
• motor carriers, such as
• Motor carrier crash data at the State and
  national level
• Status of FMCSA safety programs research
• NAFTA border State information
• Data quality and data correction tools
  information
• Current analyses on truck safety

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SafeStat

• SafeStat is used by FMCSA to target carriers for
  reviews, inspections, or other outreach activity
• Combines current and historical safety
  performance data to measure the safety fitness of
  interstate CMVs
• Guides deployment of resources to focus on
  carriers posing the greatest safety risk
• Evaluates safety status of individual motor
  carriers in four Safety Evaluation Areas
  Accident, Driver, Vehicle, and Safety Management
  using up to 30 months of CMV safety data

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GIS Truck Safety Analysis

• Work completed under FHWAs Highway Safety
  Information System project in collaboration with
  Wake County, NC

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Truck Route Network
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Sliding Scale Analysis Results
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Corridor Analysis
Link and analyze multiple routes within the
3-mile driveable buffer
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Terminals High-Crash Locations
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Safety Data and Analysis Training

• FMCSA participates annually in regional workshops
  with State CMV safety agencies to help States
  develop their annual Commercial Vehicle Safety
  Plans (CVSPs)
• Workshops sponsored by FMCSA MCSAP Office
• MCSAP Office manages 186 million in annual
  grants to help States improve motor carrier
  safety
• Hands-on training not only helps States develop
  their CVSPs, but helps evaluate success of
  previous plans to see how various programs have
  helped reduce truck and bus crashes

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Use of FMCSA Tools and Analyses

• MCMIS, LTTCS Data, AI Website, GIS, and SafeStat
  are tools that can be used by agencies to
• Help guide agencies in developing their strategic
  highway transportation safety plans
• Assist police in deployment of their enforcement
  resources
• Use GIS to target crash locations
• Tailor safety education and outreach campaigns
  (ex., No-Zone Campaign) within State or local
  jurisdictions

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The Road Ahead

• FMCSAs analysis, research, and technology
  programs are helping State DOTs by improving the
  safety of Commercial Motor Vehicles on the
  highways
• Planners may also benefit from direct access to
  data, analysis, and programs
• FMCSA must work with stakeholders to pool
  expertise, energies, and resources to achieve the
  safety vision

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A Tall Order . . .