Collection and evaluation of accident data in different European countries.

The paper presents a brief overview of the different accident data collection methods for eight European countries (Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia and Switzerland). Some recommendations for the improvement of the used methods are presented. These include the use of laptops as recording tools; accident data must be surveyed at the spot and made by trained personnel. Furthermore, GPS could be used and the use of software for evaluation and visualisation must be increased. Finally the author discusses the use of GIS in data collection and for evaluation purposes.