Crash- and Injury-Outcome Multipliers (original) (raw)

2000, Transportation Research Record

In 1992 the University of Hawaii was one of six institutions to receive a Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, NHTSA. As part of the Hawaii CODES Project, police crash data, emergency medical services (EMS) data, and hospital data were linked using a probabilistic linkage software known as Automatch. An advantage of linked data is the ability to determine injury outcomes for various types of crashes. A simple technique-crash and injury outcome multipliers for examining the relative safety of various types of crashes-is presented. Using the crash as the unit of analysis, a measure is derived that indicates the number of fatalities, incapacitating injuries, nonserious injuries, EMS transports, and hospitalizations produced over a period of time by those particular crash types. In addition to comparing vehicle-to-vehicle crashes, various crash types such as head-on, rollover, sideswipe, broadside, and fixed-object collisions are also examined. The relative crash and injury outcomes for speed-related crashes, alcoholrelated collisions, or any number of other types of safety concerns can also be tabulated. The simple technique is illustrated using both conventional police crash data on injuries and a linked file containing EMS and hospital records. In addition to demonstrating the technique, some potential uses are described.