Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Crash Data Collection for Commercial Motor Vehicles
http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/DataQuality/CrashCollectionTraining/index.html
At FMCSA, our primary mission is to reduce the number and severity of crashes involving large trucks and buses. We recognize that the crash data collected and reported by law enforcement personnel are vital for carrying out our safety mandate.
Benefits
State and local enforcement personnel learn to use nationally accepted terminology for crash data reporting and completing the State's crash report form in order to provide complete, accurate, and consistent data to support rulemakings and enforcement activities.
Who should attend?
Attendance is recommended for State and local law enforcement officers, commercial motor vehicle inspection authorities, accident reconstructionists, accident investigation trainers, and State Department of Transportation accident records developers and users.
Format
The 1-day class is brought to the State, and is customized to the State's crash report. It incorporates all of FMCSA's SAFETYNET data elements for recording crashes involving large trucks, buses, and vehicles transporting hazardous materials.
Content
The five lessons demonstrate how the use of nationally accepted terminology for crash data reporting can be beneficial in the preparation of the State's crash report and in supporting the State's reporting guidelines.
Reportable Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes
This lesson provides a detailed review of the selection process and incorporates both new and existing terminology needed for data consistency.
Motor Carrier Identification
This lesson discusses the importance of obtaining the correct information to provide accurate records for FMCSA safety activities. It contains a review of a step-by-step approach for locating and recording the information using available documents and resources. Also included is an examination of common pitfalls in attempting to determine the correct information.
Configuration, Cargo Body, and GVWR
This lesson uses real-world photographs to illustrate both typical and unusual vehicle configuration and cargo body types. It includes a detailed examination of the recording and calculation of GVWR and GCWR and uses actual crash scenarios and diagrams to illustrate the proper data entry, customized for each State's crash report and instruction manual.
Crash Events
This lesson uses photographs to illustrate collisions with fixed objects, and clarifies how to determine the entire sequence of events along with the first harmful event and most severe injury or damaging events. This lesson clarifies collision and noncollision crashes and incorporates a multivehicle crash exercise to provide hands-on application of relevant data fields from the State's crash report.
Recording Hazardous Materials
This lesson reviews the classes of hazardous materials, placard requirements, and quantity reporting procedures. It also uses sample case exercises tailored to the State's crash report to show proper recording of hazmat information.
Instructional Staff
FMCSA crash data collection training contractor, National Institute for Safety Research.
Cost
The cost of the instruction and training materials is free to the State. The State is required to assemble the student body and provide the training facility. Financial assistance may be available through Safety Data Improvement Program grants .
For More Information, contact:
Betsy Z. Benkowski
FMCSA
1200 New Jersey Avenue S.E. W68-324
Washington, DC, 20590
202-366-5387
Betsy.Benkowski@fmcsa.dot.gov