What Your Crash Data Does or Doesnt Say

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What Your Crash Data Does or Doesnt Say

• Bevan Rowland
• Senior Project Officer Fleets,
• CARRS-Q

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Overview

• Benefits of collecting crash data
• Typical examples of fleet crash data
• Hidden meanings behind crash categories
• Issues with missing data
• Common data recording difficulties
• What data should be collected
• Strategies to improve data collection
• Future directions

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Benefits of collecting crash data?

• Provide data which can be analysed and used to
• Observe and map historical crash trends
• Identify high risk sectors based on past
  performance
• Inform the development of intervention strategies
• Provide an indication of costs associated with
  crashes

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Current crash data

• Vast majority of fleet crash data is informed by
  insurance company claims data
• Fleet crash databases are often a reflection of
  the typical asset management approach, and are
  therefore concerned with
• Vehicle
• Who was driving
• Who was responsible for event (us or them)
• How much damage
• In its broadest sense, the type of crash that
  occurred

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Typical example of fleet crash data
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Hidden meanings behind crash categories

• Lost Control How do you address lost control?
• Animal Related Its ok to avoid an animal and
  crash?
• Damage While Parked No responsibility or
  illegal parking?
• Accumulated Damage Reporting procedures
  deficiencies?
• Unfair Wear and Tear How do you define a crash?
• Hit Rear Are your drivers driving to fast?,
  Why?, Are they aware of stopping distances/gaps?,
  Are they distracted, on the phone?
• The problem with categorising crashes in this
  manner is that it does not provide enough
  information to thoroughly inform intervention
  strategies.

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What does missing data tell you?

• Often associated with a lack of formal data
  reporting procedures.
• Inappropriate mechanisms supporting data
  collection (eg forms to difficult for employees,
  incomplete forms processed anyway)
• Indication of a culture in your organisation that
  fleet safety is not a priority
• Look for patterns in your missing data to help
  explain why it may be missing

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Some common data recording difficulties

• Organisations define crashes differently
• Minimal cost incidents are often not reported
  more a reflection of insurance premiums
• Traffic infringements not included
• Data often does not reflect behaviours and
  factors of influence contributing to crashes
• Data usually lacks specific detail (eg location)
• Missing data tells you nothing about the crash
• Over reliance on post incident data- there is a
  need to identify risk prior to a catastrophe

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Some recent findings

• Organisational crash data indicates fault
  attributed to company vehicle at least 2/3 of the
  time
• Highest number of crashes attributed to any one
  driver in 12 months
• Traffic infringement data is often disregarded as
  long as the fine is paid instead of being
  acknowledged as a legislative breach
• Near misses or minimal cost but potentially high
  risk incidents are not reported or recorded
• Crash benchmarking trends are more a reflection
  of different insurance excesses, community
  trends, or reporting procedures

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Examples of What Data to Collect
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Examples of Data Categories
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Examples of What Data to Collect

• Ideally this should also be linked to other data
  recorded by the organisation such as
• Employee details
• Driver history
• Vehicle details
• Vehicle maintenance records
• Complaints
• Workers compensation claims
• Rehabilitation records
• OHS incident reports
• Third Party claims and injury

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Strategies to Improve Data Collection

• Ensure that your reporting forms processes
  support comprehensive data collection develop
  better categorisation of crashes
• For example Loss of Control as a contributing
  reason for a crash is unacceptable as it does
  nothing to inform the contributing factors. What
  organisational, behavioural, or psychological
  factors were contributing to the incident?
• Formulate linking mechanisms/networks with other
  data collection agencies and develop an incident
  reference number applicable to each event and
  promote cross referencing and collaboration of
  information
• Define what data you need to collect and collate
  to help inform your safety program

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Future directions for data collection

• Need for organisations to expand data collection
  and record fields of information relating to
  fleet safety instead of relying on other sources
  of data that do not satisfy fleet safety needs
• Organisations need to link databases to include
  insurance claims, workers compensation claims,
  injury and rehabilitation, third party, and
  traffic infringements
• Organisational processes and procedures need to
  support comprehensive data collection
• Data needs to reflect behaviours and factors of
  influence rather than primarily asset management
• Post crash data can be analysed in conjunction
  with proactive data collection