Publications :: Resources :: Discussion :: About DOT TRCC :: Site Map

The Importance of Sharing Data

PDF

What are the benefits of data sharing?
How do we use the data?
Data allows for complete understanding of:
Data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is used to support the following data systems and programs:
Data collected by the Federal Highway Administration is used to support the following data systems and programs:
Data collected by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is used to support the following data systems and programs:
Data collected by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration is used to support the following data systems and programs:
DATA Community Network
Data collected is a source for obtaining

What are the benefits of data sharing?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) are Administrations that are represented on the U.S. DOT Traffic Records Coordinating Committee (TRCC). These Administrations collect data from the States for use in a variety of data-driven systems. The data collected is used extensively for:

• Basic Research;
• Identifying problem areas;
• Identifying program and rulemaking needs;
• Developing and evaluating programs, rules, and standards;
• Evaluating new technologies; and
• Allocating grants.

How do we use the data?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and Research and Innovative Technology Administration, and the entire highway traffic safety community use the data to quantify emerging traffic safety issues and problems, determine priorities, support decision-making and target resources where they will be most effective.

Data allows for complete understanding of:

• The nature, causes, and injury outcomes of crashes; and
• The strategies and interventions that will reduce crashes and their consequences.

Data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is used to support the following data systems and programs:

• The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) provides information on all motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States in which one or more involved people die as the result of crash injuries within 30 days of the crash.
• The National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System (NASS CDS) is a nationally representative sample of police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes involving towed passenger vehicles in which detailed investigations are conducted to support NHTSA's crashworthiness standards development evaluation programs.
• The National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System (NASS GES) is a nationally representative sample of all police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes throughout the United States. Data is based on information collected on the police crash report.
• The State Data System (SDS) is a multiyear database of computerized police-reported crashes. SDS has grown rapidly in recent years as more States have contributed their crash data, further increasing the value of SDS to NHTSA and the greater highway safety community.
• The Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES) is a program which encourages States to link statewide motor vehicle crash data and medical outcome databases to match vehicle, crash, and human behavior characteristics to their specific medical and financial outcomes.
• The Special Crash Investigations (SCI) program uses highly trained and skilled motor vehicle crash reconstructionists to perform detailed investigations on a limited number of crashes involving new and rapidly changing occupant protection technologies or high-profile crashes of interest to the agency.
• The National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) is a nationally representative observational survey that provides estimates of shoulder belt and motorcycle helmet use as well as the characteristics of belt users.
• The National Driver Register (NDR) is a central repository of information on individuals who have been convicted of serious traffic related offenses or whose privilege to drive has been revoked, suspended, canceled, or denied.

Data collected by the Federal Highway Administration is used to support the following data systems and programs:

• The Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP) is a set of special tabulations from the decennial census designed for transportation planners. CTPP contains tabulations by place of residence; place of work, and for flows between home and work.
• The HEPGIS is an interactive, Web-based geographic information system (GIS) that enables users to access transportation-related geo-spatial data using only their Web browsers. Simple navigation tools allow users to locate and zoom in to a geographic area of interest, and to create maps showing various geographic features and themes, for example MPO boundaries.
• The Highway Statistics Report is prepared by the Office of Highway Policy Information. It presents the analyzed statistics of general interest on motor fuel, motor vehicles, driver licensing, highway-user taxation, State highway finance, highway mileage, Federal aid for highways, and highway finance data for municipalities, counties, townships, and other units of local government. The report can be viewed at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/index.htm
• Intermodal Facilities database provides a listing of roads that provide access between major intermodal facilities and the other four subsystems making up the National Highway System.
• The National Bridge Inventory (NBI) is a national compilation of highway bridges. Information in the database include: type structure, material type, load ratings, etc.
• The Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) provides essential data on highway conditions, performance, and usage for all states. The HPMS is updated each year.
• The Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) is a multi-State safety database that contains crash, roadway inventory, and traffic volume data for a select group of nine States based on the quality of their data, the range of data available, and their ability to merge the data from the various files.
• The National Highway Planning Network (NHPN) is a 1:100,000 scale network database that contains line features representing just over 450,000 miles of current and planned highways in the United States. The NHPN consists of interstates, principal arterials, and rural minor arterials.
• The National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), formerly the Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS), serves as the nation's inventory of personal travel. It is the only authoritative source of national data on personal travel behavior including purpose of the trip, means of transportation, trip length, day of week and month of the year, number of people on trip, and a host of other trip-making characteristics.
• The Road Weather Information System (RWIS) is comprised of Environmental Sensor Stations (ESS) in the field, a communication system for data transfer, and central systems to collect field data from numerous ESS. These stations measure atmospheric, pavement and water level conditions.
• The Strategic Highway Network (STRAHNET) is a network of highways that are important to the United States' strategic defense policy and which provide defense access, continuity, and emergency capabilities for defense purposes.
• The Traffic Volume Trends (TVT) is a monthly report based on hourly traffic count data reported by the States. This data is collected at approximately 4,000 continuous traffic counting locations nationwide and is used to estimate the percent change in traffic for the current month compared with the same month in the previous year.

Data collected by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is used to support the following data systems and programs:

The Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) includes five files:

• The Census File, with data collected from interstate truck and bus companies and intrastate carriers of hazardous materials, contains basic data on carrier vehicles, drivers, and commodities carried.
• The Crash File, with data collected by State and local police jurisdictions, contains basic identification data on all trucks and buses involved in fatal, injury, and tow-away crashes.
• The Inspection File, with data collected by State and FMCSA truck and bus inspectors, includes the results of roadside vehicle and driver safety inspections.
• The Compliance Review File, with data collected by FMCSA and State Safety Investigators, contains the results of safety compliance reviews conducted on motor carriers.
• The Enforcement File, with data collected from FMCSA enforcement cases against motor carriers, contains the results of closed enforcement cases against motor carriers.
• The Commercial Driver License (CDL) program is a State-based system for which all States report serious traffic safety violations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to the truck or bus driver's home State.
• The Drug and Alcohol Management Information System, with data collected through a sample survey of motor carriers, contains data on the percent of commercial drivers found to be violating Federal Motor Carrier drug and alcohol regulations.
• The Safety and Fitness Electronic Records System (SAFER) contains safety information on individual motor carriers, with all data entered from MCMIS files.
• The Motor Carrier Safety Fitness Measurement System (SafeStat) measures the relative (peer-to-peer) safety fitness of motor carriers with all data from MCMIS files.

Data collected by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration is used to support the following data systems and programs:

• Commodity Flow Survey: Sponsored by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) collects establishment survey data on freight movement and provides data on how much freight moves by all modes of transportation in the United States, including private and for-hire trucking for both intercity and local freight transportation. The CFS is the primary source of nationwide data on the flow of goods and hazardous materials by all modes of transportation, on the geography of commodity movements, and the distance of shipments.
• Transborder Freight Data: The Transborder Freight Data system provides detailed North American merchandise trade data unavailable from any other source. The data is presented by commodity type, mode of transportation (truck, rail, air, water, pipeline, mail, and other), and geographic detail (port of entry and exit, state/province of origin and destination) for U.S. exports to and imports from Canada and Mexico.
• Border Crossing/Entry Data: Border Crossing/Entry Database provides summary statistics for incoming crossings at the U.S.-Canadian and the U.S.-Mexican border at the port level and allows for the monitoring of traffic volumes at land and ferry ports of entry. Counts are available for trucks, trains, containers, buses, personal vehicles, passengers, and pedestrians by U.S. Customs port of entry.
• The National Ferry Database: The National Ferry Database is a census of ferry operators and contains current information regarding routes, vessels, passengers, and vehicles carried, and funding sources. This data system is needed by government and industry to understand how ferry operations fit into the national transportation system and help plan for their future.
• The AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) State Transit Funding Survey is conducted annually by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The survey report includes a summary of State funding for the 50 States and the District of Columbia, funding amounts, programs, eligible uses and allocation, along with per capita State transit funding. The report also includes an overview of the results of transit-related State and local ballot initiatives held in 2005. The report is available on the AASHTO Web site at www.transportation.org and at the APTA Web site at www.apta.com.
• The Omnibus Household Survey (OHS), conducted by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, is a random digit dial telephone survey designed to monitor expectations of and satisfaction with the transportation system and to gather event, issue, and mode-specific information. The current OHS includes sections on mode use, commuting to work, and commercial travel.

DATA Community Network

The stakeholders and users throughout the data community network can often reoccur within each Administration

United States Congress

Other Federal Agencies: FHWA, FMCSA, RITA FTA, NHTSA, EPA, DOD, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. International Trade Commission, Department of Agriculture, Oakridge National Laboratories

State Governments: Governors, State Legislators, Departments of Transportation, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and border States

Medical Community: American Medical Association, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine

Automotive Industry: GM, Ford, Toyota, and automotive suppliers

Insurance Industry: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), State Farm, Nationwide

Safety Advocates: AAA (formerly known as the American Automobile Association), Advocates for Highway Safety, National SAFE KIDS

Media: Newspapers, television stations

Private Citizens

Local Governments: (City/county DOTs, engineers)

Professional Groups: American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), Transportation Research Board (TRB), American Statistical Association (ASA), American Trucking Association (ATA)

Private Industry: Individual motor carriers, insurance companies, American Trucking Association, National Private Truck Council (NPTC)

Academic Researchers: Boston University, Cornell University, University of Minnesota University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Springfield, University of Connecticut, Northwestern University, George Mason University, Texas Southern University, University at Albany, University of Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, University of Wyoming, University of Southern California, University of Tennessee, University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M, libraries

Private Industry/Consulting Companies: Ferry Industry Professionals, Martin Labbe Associates, Reebie Associates, Global Insight, Inc., PB Consult, Cambridge Systematics, Maritime Analytics, Wilbur Smith, American Transportation Research Institute, NuStats, Battelle, Reynolds Smith and Hills, The Tioga Group

International Partners: Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Japan, Sweden, Taiwan, United Nations

Data collected is a source for obtaining:

Real world crash data: Fatalities, injuries, causation factors (primary prevention), cccupant protection (crashworthiness)

Safety programs: The primary source for both domestic and international research on motor vehicle crashes and motor vehicle manufacturers

Commercial motor carrier safety data: Carriers crash data/ statistics, truck and bus safety inspections, commercial drivers both truck and bus which would include crash and Federal safety violations; commercial motor carrier industry data, (i.e., number and size of carriers, type of carriers/cargo carried)

Roadway Data: Road miles, intersections, pavement quality, bridges/overpasses/tunnels

Travel Data: Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and average annual daily travel (AADT)

Drivers' License Data: Motor Vehicle Registration Data

U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT)
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE • Washington, DC 20590 • Email DOT TRCC
Accessibility | Disclaimer | Fast Lane | Freedom of Information Act
No FEAR Act | OIG Hotline | Privacy Policy | USA.gov | White House
Plug-ins: PDF Reader | Flash Player | Excel Viewer | PowerPoint Viewer | Word Viewer | WinZip