Although it ceased to be a national requirement nearly 50 years earlier, in 1994 many UK police forces were still collecting information about the factors that may have contributed to the occurrence of a road traffic accident, the use of which, in conjunction with the more objective STATS19 data, can make a vital contribution to road safety improvement. A new system for recording these contributory factors was devised and tested by TRL in 1995. However the use of the system proceeded on a voluntary basis after many objections were raised by police and road safety practitioners. Eighteen police forces have since adopted the TRL devised system. During this review, interviews were carried out to assess current working practices and problems associated with the new and other systems. A revised system is recommended which retains many of the innovative ideas from the TRL designed form, allowing a degree of continuity for those police forces who have already adopted the system. It also overcomes many of the original objections raised, enabling nationwide implementation.
Abstract