Police accident report PAR quality assessment project.

Author(s)
Greenberg, L.
Year
Abstract

In this study the author assesses the accuracy and completeness with which Police Accident Reports (PARs) are completed by state and local police. Focusing on data elements commonly used in studies carried out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the author compares data from PARs to data collected in independent reinvestigations of the same crashes by NHTSA's Crashworthiness Data System (CDS) researchers. A total of 939 crashes in 1991 from four CDS study sites ware investigated. In all, 24 data elements ware studied. For four data elements, very low discrepancy rates ware found. For sixteen data elements, discrepancy rates varied by jurisdiction - high in some, low in others. For four data elements, uniformly high discrepancy rates ware found. These four data elements ware manner of collision, vehicle identification number, occupant protection system use, and deployment of air bags (however the latter was treated as a separate data element in only one jurisdiction). The study results will be of interest to analysts relying on PAR-reported data. In addition, the author gives various recommendations for the improvement of PAR data quality. (A)

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Publication

Library number
970341 ST [electronic version only]
Source

Washington, D.C., U.S. Department of Transportation DOT, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA, 1996, V + 59 + 21 p.; DOT HS 808 487

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