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Crash records are the official traffic crash reports. Crash records conform to the Florida Traffic Crash Report form (90010s). Law enforcement agencies (there are about 340 in Florida) and drivers submit reports to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), which is the official repository of crash records for the State of Florida.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) is the official repository of crash records for the State of Florida. Law enforcement submits the majority of crash reports as required by section 316.065, Florida Statutes. Drivers in minor crashes may self-report a crash.
Through the Florida Traffic Crash Report form (90010s), the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) collects event-level, vehicle-level, and person-level information. Reviewing the form will reveal the information collected in crash records. Search the FLHSMV website (www.flhsmv.gov) for form 90010s.
Event-level data concerns factors that are the same for everything and everyone involved in the crash. For example, the date and time or location of the crash are event-level data. Event-level data differs between crashes.
Vehicle-level data concerns factors that are the same for everything and everyone in a specific vehicle involved in the crash. For example, the type of vehicle or direction of travel are vehicle-level data. Vehicle-level data differs between vehicles. A crash may contain vehicle-level data from multiple vehicles, but each vehicle has crash-level data from one crash.
Person-level data concerns factors specific to a person involved in the crash. Person-level data is unique to each person. A crash may contain person-level data from multiple people, but each person has crash-level data from one crash. A vehicle may contain person-level data from multiple people, but each person has vehicle-level data from one vehicle if that person was involved with a vehicle. If a person is not involved with a vehicle, they are a non-motorist and do not have vehicle-level data.
According to section 316.065 of Florida Statutes, law enforcement must submit a crash report for a crash that involves an injury, a fatality, a hit-and-run, impaired driving, a wrecker to remove a vehicle, a commercial vehicle, or apparent damage of at least $500,00. Such crash reports are long-form reports.
Drivers in minor crashes may self-report a crash. Such reports are called short-form reports. If a crash meets criteria for a long-form report, law enforcement must submit the report.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) provides feedback to law enforcement regarding crash report submissions. FLHSMV also coordinates report training with agencies and publishes the Uniform Traffic Crash Report Manual for the crash report form (90010S).
Yes. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) notes about 340 law enforcement agencies in Florida. These agencies may use approved data collection devices and software for electronic reporting according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV).
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) is the official repository of crash records for the State of Florida. The FLHSMV website (www.flhsmv.gov) provides options to purchase crash records.
With authorized access, traffic safety professionals working for FDOT may view crash records using access-controlled systems. These systems include the Crash Analysis Reporting (CAR) system, the SSOGIS application, Florida's Signal Four Analytics, and the Electronic Document Management System (EDMS). Eligible users may submit an Automated Access Request Form (AARF) through FDOT to get authorized access to the aforementioned systems.
FDOT receives a copy of crash records from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV). FDOT stores crash records in the Crash Analysis and Reporting (CAR) database. FDOT adds geolocation coordinates to each crash record on a public road. Verified locations are not added to short-form crashes or crashes on private roads, forestry roads, parking lots, or private property. Using a linear-reference system (LRS), FDOT links roadway data from state-maintained roads to crash records.
Afterwards, FDOT conducts crash analyses and research to help improve roadway safety. These efforts support the identification, evaluation, and planning of safety enhancements. Furthermore, traffic safety professionals may use these analyses and insight for the development of safety-improvement projects.
You have several options to get crash data. Several federal and state agencies and entities provide interfaces, tools, analyses, and access to Florida's crash data. A keyword search in a search engine like Google or Bing gives links to crash data from these agencies.
Some (not all) systems follow.
- Florida Crash Dashboard (FLHSMV, public access)
- Traffic Crash Facts reports (FLHSMV, public access)
- FARS - Fatality Analysis Reporting System (NHTSA, public access)
- Florida's Signal Four Analytics (TRCC and UF, restricted access)
- FDOT Open Data Hub (FDOT, public access)
- SSOGIS (FDOT, public access & restricted access)
- CAR - Crash Analysis Reporting system (FDOT, restricted access)
First, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) is the official repository of crash records for the State of Florida. The FLHSMV website (www.flhsmv.gov) provides public (and download) access to interfaces and reports based on crash records. Among them are a dashboard with summary statistics and annual reports with more official statistics. You can find FLHSMV crash data in the top three to five results using a keyword search.
Second, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has a research and data section. Using this section in the NHTSA website (www.nhtsa.gov), you can access several sources of crash data and statistics. The Fatality Analysis and Reporting System (FARS) is one of them. Using a keyword search on the NHTSA website or web search engines, you can find NHTSA crash data.
Third, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is another source for crash statistics. The FHWA website (www.fhwa.dot.gov or highways.dot.gov) has a section for their Safety Program. FHWA has another section for publications and statistics. As with other options, a keyword search can lead you to FHWA crash statistics.
Fourth, the Florida Traffic Records Coordinating Committee (TRCC) sponsors Florida's Signal Four Analytics which is maintained by the GeoPlan Center at the University of Florida. Access is available to government entities and controlled by Signal Four Analytics and FDOT.
Finally, FDOT also provides access to crash data. The FDOT Open Data Hub (gis-fdot.opendata.arcgis.com) gives public and download access to crash data on public roads in Florida in addition to roadway, traffic, and other data. FDOT also has a web application dedicated to exploring crash data on public roads call SSOGIS. Authorized users may use the Crash Analysis Reporting (CAR) system to access all long-form crashes. You may contact the District Safety Engineer in your area or use a keyword search for FDOT crash data tools.
The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) is a nationwide reporting system by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for fatal injuries by traffic crashes. FARS receives annual updates from the states. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) provides NHTSA with data for crashes involving fatal injuries. FARS allows users to investigate crash data for fatalities from Florida and other states.
The FDOT Crash Analysis Reporting (CAR) system is a crash analysis database system. It combines crash data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) with roadway and traffic data. The CAR system provides annually updated crash rates and other statistics. The CAR system reports crash rates and statistics for state roads using FDOT roadway identification numbers and mile points.
The intended audience is traffic engineering and planning professionals. Authorized users may access data, statistics, and analyses. The Automated Access Request Form (AARF) is used to grant access to the CAR system.
Signal Four Analytics is a crash mapping and analysis system for law enforcement, traffic engineering, and transportation planning. The system uses crash records from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), citation data from law enforcement agencies, and available roadway and traffic data. The GeoPlan Center from the University of Florida developed and maintains the system which is funded by the State of Florida through the Traffic Records Coordinating Committee.
Eligible users are granted access to Signal Four Analytics through admin staff. Eligible users from FDOT may use the Automated Access Request Form (AARF) for authorized access.
SSOGIS is a State Safety Office Geographic Information System application developed and maintained by FDOT. SSOGIS is a web-based map based on long-form crashes on all public roads. It contains features allowing users to filter crash data and download data in tabular or GIS shapefile formats.
SSOGIS is publicly accessible. Authorized FDOT users may view crash report images.
Fundamentally, there is no difference between the crash records provided by the CAR system and Signal Four Analytics. Both systems regularly receive copies of crash records from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) which is the official repository of crash records for Florida. However, each system provides a different subset of FLHSMV crash records.
The CAR database contains long-form and short-form crash records from FLHSMV. But the CAR system analyzes and reports on long-form crash records. Signal Four Analytics also contains long-form and short-form crash records from FLHSMV. It outputs analyses and reports based on all records. It also has mapping capabilities.
Both the CAR system and Signal Four Analytics use automated geolocation processes. Engineering decisions are data-driven so FDOT is more stringent with crash geolocations. They augment geolocations with a location-verification process.
FDOT regularly updates the CAR database with crash records from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV). Authorized users may review all crash records in the database.
Analyses, statistics, and reports are based on years for which location verification is complete for crash records. FDOT prioritizes location verification for fatal and serious injury crashes which are processed immediately upon receipt from FLHSMV to support safety analysis.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) generally expects to receive a crash record within two weeks of the crash event. Sections 316.066 and 324.051, Florida Statutes, requires law enforcement officers to complete and submit both long-form and short-form crash reports to FLHSMV within 10 days of the crash.
FDOT receives a daily transfer of crash records from FLHSMV. So FDOT can expect a crash record to load into the Crash Analysis Reporting (CAR) database within two weeks of the crash event. Some systems and analyses at FDOT rely on crash records with verified locations. FDOT prioritizes location verification for fatal and serious injury crashes which are processed immediately upon receipt from FLHSMV to support safety analysis.
County-wide statistics are available through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) website (www.flhsmv.gov). A keyword search for "flhsmv crash data" on the FLHSMV website or a search engine (i.e., Google or Bing) leads to a dashboard.
Another public source for county-wide statistics is the FDOT Open Data Hub (gis-fdot.opendata.arcgis.com). FDOT SSOGIS is a web-map application with a public interface for crash data. A keyword search for "fdot ssogis" on a search engine leads to the public interface of FDOT SSOGIS.
Authorized users may access crash statistics through the FDOT Crash Analysis Reporting (CAR) system and Florida's Signal Four Analytics.
First, a user needs the geographic boundaries for a city or neighborhood. The Florida Geographic Data Library (FGDL), the GeoPlan Center at the University of Florida, and the US Census are resources for geographic datasets with boundaries.
Next, the FDOT Open Data Hub (gis-fdot.opendata.arcgis.com) provides public access to crashes located on public roads. Users may download the data or use the URL to link to the data. FDOT SSOGIS also provides a public interface to crashes on public roads. A keyword search of "fdot ssogis" leads to the website.
Using geographic data for boundaries and crashes, a user may calculate crash statistics for a city or neighborhood. A user may also contact city or county officials for any available information.
Authorized users my access the Crash Analysis Reporting (CAR) system for crash rates and statistics of road segments or intersections on the State Highway System (SHS).
For local roadways, users may use the geographic boundaries of a road segment or intersection then use the FDOT Open Data Hub (gis-fdot.opendata.arcgis.com) provides public access to crashes located on public roads. Users may download the data or use the URL to link to the data. FDOT SSOGIS also provides a public interface to crashes on public roads. A keyword search of "fdot ssogis" leads to the website.
About 49% of crashes occur on state roads and about 37% occur on local roads in Florida. These statistics are based on crash data in the FDOT Crash Analysis Reporting (CAR) database from 2015 through 2018. The FDOT CAR system uses long-form crash records for statistics.
Two critical elements are needed to match crash records with published statistics. The first element is the data definition used for the statistics. The second element is the time at which the crash records were extracted for the published statistics. You must match both elements as closely as possible to get crash data that match published statistics as closely as possible.
The data definition is the criteria used to select or filter crash records. Different crash categories (e.g., lane departure or work zone) use different combinations of data fields and code values from the Florida Traffic Crash Report form (90010s). The date range is also part of the data definition.
The database of crash records is live. In addition to new crash records being submitted by law enforcement or self-reported, some crash records are updated with new information. Therefore, official crash statistics are usually based on a snapshot of the database taken at a specific time. A user should find out when the data used for the published statistics was extracted from the database.