FIGURE 1
Description of Field Usage: Examples from Data Sets
Example 1: Duplicate Entry
“Event Description: Bus standing
in traffic. Auto moving in same direction left of bus.
Right-rear side of auto struck left-front corner of bus.
Auto fled scene. Two (2) customers on bus, a woman, age 59,
and a man, age 27, claimed various injuries and were removed
by ambulance.”
“Accident Description: Bus standing in traffic. Auto moving
same direction left of bus. Right-rear side of auto struck
left-front corner of bus. Auto fled scene. Two (2) customers
on bus, a woman, age 59, and a man, age 27, claimed various
injuries and were removed by ambulance.”
Example 2: Not Enough Information
(a) “Bus was making a left turn and car came on left side to
pass it, causing the collision.”
(b) “Bus was turning left, and front of auto made contact
with right rear of bus.”
(c) “Collision in an intersection with both vehicles
traveling straight and the automobile coming from the
right.”
| This information goes a long way toward helping FTA to determine trends and indicators of problem areas and also toward answering myriad queries from media, researchers, and policy makers. The benefits accrue to FTA, transit agencies, and the industry overall in the form of better metrics, correlations, and causal factor explanations. There is enhanced ability to diagnose areas of safety and security requiring further research, technical assistance, and funding.
In past years, we have observed significant improvement, largely due to increased experience with the new mode of reporting, the pulldown menus, and the detail screens. The reporting forms and data fields have also been refined and improved each year as we progress and learn more. The description forms have been changed and modified as well. Even with these changes, it is useful to discuss past experience with the fields in order to formulate their usage in the present.
Although considerable data are provided by the dropdown menus on the S&S 40 forms and detail screens, there is still room for improvement because the data do not necessarily shed light on the root causes of incidents.
This is where description fields come in. Description fields are where you can enter text of your choosing.
The Main Form S&S-40 contains a description field for intersection controls, right of way (ROW), vehicles involved, and other relevant incident information not provided elsewhere on the form. Each subsidiary form (for each incident categorization) also contains description data fields: one each for collisions, security incidents, evacuations, fires, vehicles leaving the roadway, and incidents that are not other classified (NOC). Qualitative data that shed light on the causes of incidents can be entered in these fields. The objective data captured in the form can be enhanced through “subjective” information, perhaps in the form of an accompanying explanation of who was at fault and why and how the incident occurred.
For the purpose of this article, we will discuss some entries in
the description fields from previous data sets. Although these data sets have since been modified (there are now more description fields in different locations), the key underlying possibilities and options for using the fields remain constant. |
