In-depth data describing the causes of accidents and injuries provides a major contribution to the development of new safety policies. It is essential when conducting impact assessments of existing or future safety policies and it plays a vital role when developing and evaluating technology countermeasures. There is no indepth data available to describe the causes of accidents and injuries for Europe as a whole although earlier studies have conducted pilot investigations to develop protocols. DaCoTA has built upon previous work with the intention of establishing the infrastructure for a future investigation system that will then be deployed beyond the completion of the project. This deliverable contains the final update to the DaCoTA training manual and protocols for in-depth road accident investigations in Europe, which were tested and updated following a pioneering Europe-wide In-Depth Pilot Study during 2012. The results of this Pilot Study were used to further refine and improve the data collection methodology. The DaCoTA training manual outlines all of the variables that are required to be gathered during in depth accident investigation and input into the DaCoTA database. Most of the latest methodology is included in this deliverable, although the full system can be viewed online in an interactive manner at the web address: http://dacota-investigation-manual.eu The online manual is divided into 5 sections that form the basis for most of the chapters in this document: • DaCoTA Teams • Variables (merged with the next section) • Methodology Outline • Detailed Methodology • Forms and Documents DaCoTA Teams (Chapter 2) describes the Pan-European In-depth Accident Investigation Network and the structure of the investigation teams. This includes information on team experience levels. The Variables section in the Online Manual provides a comprehensive list of approximately 1500 variables and their definitions that are possible to collect during an accident investigation. The Variables section (Chapter 3) provides some additional information on the variables however due to the large number of variables a full list is not provided in this document. The Methodology Outline section (also Chapter 3) of the Online Manual gives an overview of the DaCoTA Methodology and provides an idea of the investigation requirements. The Detailed Methodology section is the core text of the Online Manual as it provides detailed information about how to collect road accident data, what equipment is required and what precautions should be taken. The Detailed Methodology Text is presented in Chapter 4. The Forms and Documents section of the Online Manual contains a selection of accident investigation tools (forms/prompt sheets) that can be effective in helping the investigator collect data in a structured and organised manner. Further details can be found in Chapter 5 however the actual forms are not included in this document. Recommendations from the pilot study review and the Network teams are contained in Chapter 6. The recommendations have been collected from practically all the project partners and participants in the pilot study through a review process. The review was divided into two major parts; a case review made by the Core teams and a questionnaire concerning the experience all teams had during the pilot study. In the review of cases both core teams and new teams were reviewed and the aim was to find common mistakes to identify training needs and team capability. In the questionnaire all teams had the chance to give their own opinion about the system as a whole and the methodology, the on-line manual and the web application separately. The results from the review and the questionnaire were analysed and many issues were resolved within the project. Some issues are still open though and are presented in detail in Chapter 6. In conclusion, a comprehensive, in-depth accident investigation methodology has been developed and tested as part of a full system ready for European wide implementation. (Author/publisher)
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