New Guideline Helps States Track Highway Crashes; Cell Phones and other Distractions Included 6/24/2003
From: Jonathan Adkins of the Governors Highway Safety Association, 202-789-0942 WASHINGTON, June 24 -- The 2nd edition of the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC) Guideline has just been released. Among the new revisions is the recommendation that states collect data on all crashes involving death, personal injury, or property damage of $1,000 or more. Some states only document a crash if there is a death, significant injury, or enough damage to the vehicle that requires it to be towed. The new Guideline also includes a recommendation that states track whether or not driver distraction contributed to the crash. MMUCC's purpose is to give guidance to states to help them standardize data collected at crash scenes. The goal is to achieve greater uniformity and consistency nationwide in the crash data collection process. These critical data are used by local, state, and federal policy makers to determine trends and prioritize highway safety problem areas as well as develop laws and strategies aimed at reducing deaths and injuries. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Federal Highway Administration, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration jointly developed MMUCC with collaboration from numerous state and local agencies. $1000 Reporting Threshold A $1000 threshold for crash reporting has significant ramifications for traffic safety policy. It will mean that better statistics will be available to indicate the full impact of traffic crashes and also what factors contribute to their occurrence. Better data will also allow states to target their limited resources more effectively. The $1000 threshold was recommended partly because of concern that states may not be reporting less severe crashes due to the time and expense entailed in the reporting process. Barbara Harsha, GHSA's executive director, and the project director for MMUCC says, "If states implement this new crash reporting threshold, we will have a much better sense of what is really occurring on our nation's roadways." MMUCC's full threshold recommendation encourages states: -- To include all crashes statewide involving death, personal injury, or property damage of $1,000 or more. This data should be reported and computerized statewide; -- To report crash data for all persons involved (including the injured and non-injured) to support highway safety's goal of reducing death, injury, injury severity and health care costs resulting from motor vehicle crashes statewide; -- To adopt a reporting threshold that is uniform and consistently implemented statewide. Driver Distractions The revised MMUCC Guideline also includes new data elements that will help police and policy makers better gauge the impact of driver distractions, one of the most controversial and prominent issues in highway safety. The new codes that address distractions are for the driver who is: -- Not Distracted -- Distracted by an: Electronic communication device (cell phone, pager) Other electronic communication device (navigation device, palm pilot) Other distraction inside the vehicle (radio, another passenger, etc.) Object outside the vehicle (road sign, another vehicle, etc.) Harsha says the inclusion of a driver distraction data element is particularly timely given that numerous states are considering legislation to ban hand-held cell phone use while driving. "We don't really have any idea as to the scope of the driver distraction problem. Including this new data element on police crash forms will help states gain a better understanding of the problem." GHSA has urged states to refrain from enacting hand-held cell phone bans until further research and data are available. Currently, only 16 states are collecting crash data on cell phone usage, but Harsha expects that MMUCC will help that number greatly increase. She adds, "Compiled statistics from crash forms coupled with more research on driver distraction should give policy makers a better body of evidence to use when considering legislation regulating cell phones and other distractions." The MMUCC revision also includes other emerging issues such as: red light running, drugged driving, booster seat usage by children, hit and run crashes, and special use vehicles (such as the Segway Transporter). The full MMUCC revision contains 111 data elements, two less than the previous version published in 1998. Harsha says she expects widespread usage of MMUCC because it is not a drastic change from the 1998 version and many states are already implementing most of the elements in the guideline. The second edition of the MMUCC Guideline, 2003 was published in June and is available online at http://www.ghsa.org. MMUCC is coordinated by GHSA and funded by NHTSA. ------ The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is a nonprofit association representing the highway safety offices of states, territories, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Indian Nation. Its members are appointed by their Governors to administer federal and state highway safety funds and implement state highway safety plans. Prior to September 2002, GHSA was known as the National Association of Governors' Highway Safety Representatives (NAGHSR). For more information, contact Jonathan Adkins at (202) 789-0942, e-mail jadkins@statehighwaysafety.org or visit http://www.ghsa.org. |