Improving the Locational Classifications of Indiana Motor Vehicle Collisions

Abstract

Since 2007, the Center for Criminal Justice Research (CCJR) at the IU Public Policy Institute has partnered with the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) to analyze Indiana motor vehicle collision data maintained by the Indiana State Police. In this role, CCJR analyzes collision data elements as they exist in the Indiana Officer’s Standard Crash Report and introduces new elements of analytical importance as needed. The purpose of this research note is to introduce a new element, Census Locality, that CCJR developed in response to discussions with the Indiana Traffic Records Coordinating Committee (TRCC). CCJR intends to incorporate the new element in 2011 collision analyses. The new 4-category (urban, suburban, exurban, rural) locality element improves upon the existing ARIES 2-category (urban, rural) locality element by providing a more informative characterization of the location of collisions. Locality is of particular importance in planning traffic safety initiatives and reducing motor vehicle collisions and resulting injuries and deaths.