Traffic safety is a critical concern in New Jersey where annual traffic crashes typically exceed 200,000, according to the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), with many of them resulting in non-fatal injuries that have lifelong impacts on victims. Currently, this data is not easily accessible. Researchers, advocates, and the public have an interest in accessing up-to-date crash data with geographic and contextual information in order to identify areas with safety concerns, conduct analyses, and advocate for effective policies.
This research study included a survey of all states to analyze practices surrounding crash data availability and reporting, as well as interviews with subject matter experts, including NJDOT staff, transportation advocates, public health professionals, and university researchers. A recent blog post on improving traffic crash data in New Jersey provides a thorough overview of the study and takeaways regarding the national availability of crash data by state. In this blog, we provide an overview of other key takeaways from the study, summarizing our findings from subject matter expert interviews, the value of non-fatal crash data, and policy recommendations for New Jersey.
Major Takeaways from Interviews
We interviewed subject-matter experts in 25 states, including:
- 19 representatives from government agencies, including state Departments of Transportation, Safety, and Public Health
- 7 university researchers and faculty
- 11 representatives from advocacy organizations and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)
The interviews revealed key themes that are critical for understanding how traffic crash data can be used to improve road safety. A central issue emphasized by nearly all stakeholders is the need for non-fatal crash data. While data on fatal crashes is available through the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), information on non-fatal crashes, which make up over 99% of all crashes, is not easily accessible. During interviews, advocacy groups, public health professionals, and local researchers stressed that focusing solely on fatalities misses a significant portion of the safety challenges on roadways:
“In [a mid-sized city], there are about 5 fatal bicycle crashes a year. It’s not enough to tell us where our problem spots are and where we need to make infrastructure changes. The difference between an injury and a fatality is often a matter of a few feet, vehicle size, or how someone was hit.”
“Severity of crashes is underreported. Law enforcement is not trained to report severity the same way that medical professionals are.”
Another key theme throughout interviews was the importance of publicly available dashboards that display all crashes and allow users to filter for certain roadway or crash characteristics. These dashboards allow the public, decisionmakers, and advocates to better access and interpret crash data. Interviewees emphasized that most of the users of these dashboards were interested in localized areas, including specific neighborhoods or intersections. Dashboards and maps provide a way for communities to understand exactly where crashes are happening, identify priority areas for safety improvements, and advocate for policy changes to help prevent future crashes. Many states—New Jersey included—have been slow to implement such tools, and when they do exist, they often fail to include geocoded or timely data, limiting their effectiveness.
New Jersey provides crash data through Numetric and Safety Voyager, but these platforms require permission for use by the NJDOT. Some other organizations have created interactive dashboards to view New Jersey crash data: the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Traffic Safety Overview Dashboard compiles crash data by county up to 2019, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s Crash Statistics Dashboard covers Mercer, Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties, and Hudson County maintains a dashboard with statewide characteristics.
This is a particularly urgent concern in assessing the safety of school zones and children – only a small subset of states includes information usable for school zone safety. Data on crashes near schools and on school routes can help identify high-risk areas, allowing policymakers to prioritize infrastructure improvements, such as better signage, traffic calming measures, or safer crossings. However, without geocoded data that spans longer time frames, effective solutions are more difficult to identify.
Data Sharing and Transparency: Balancing Access with Privacy and Accuracy
Interviews with practitioners revealed several reasons why some state DOTs choose to make crash data available to the public or not. Some states, such as Connecticut and Georgia, maintain comprehensive dashboards that allow users to query records and export raw data. On the other hand, some interviewees from state DOTs and law enforcement agencies expressed concerns about sharing crash data with the public, citing issues such as the potential for misinterpretation of the data and privacy concerns. This tension between the desire for transparency and the need to ensure data integrity is a significant barrier to data availability:
| To share? | Or not to share? |
| “It allows [advocacy] groups to really have a voice. That data is indisputable.” | “We’ve had people use our data to make wild [false] claims.” |
| “If you are worried about data being misused, the best thing is to release it.” | “[Most] people wouldn’t know what to do with the data if they had access to it.” |
| “The data belongs to the taxpayers. We didn’t see a reason not to share it.” | “We have chosen not to have it available publicly. It’s such a large database, we don’t want it misinterpreted.” |
Beyond the potential for misinterpretation, the interviewees highlighted procedural challenges to maintaining accurate data. Crashes tend to be underreported, particularly when they do not involve a motor vehicle, and when they do occur, there are often no uniform platforms or standards for law enforcement to easily submit detailed, timely information.
Best Practices and Opportunities for New Jersey
The findings from the interviews and review of crash data sharing practices across the U.S. suggest that the policies of many states are not supporting the national goals of roadway safety and Vision Zero. Still, the interviews revealed several best practices that could provide opportunities for improving crash data in New Jersey:
- Data Accessibility and Publicly Facing Dashboards
Statewide traffic safety dashboards that include geocoded data, real-time updates, and interactive maps can empower advocates, researchers, and the general public to access detailed crash information and make informed decisions about where to prioritize safety interventions. While providing raw crash data is important for researchers, dashboards should also be designed to include maps, summary reports, and querying options. - Non-Fatal Crash Data and Data Integration
While the public can access fatal crash data through the USDOT FARS platform, these crashes make up less than 1% of all reported crashes. Data on fatal crashes alone shows a small subset of the larger picture and is not enough to develop a comprehensive understanding of safety issues. Additionally, integrating other datasets, such as roadway information and school zone conditions, can help identify effective safety interventions and policy changes. - Data Quality and Standardization
The quality of crash data collection and reporting varies significantly from state to state. One of the most pressing issues is the inconsistency in geocoding crash locations. New Jersey should take steps to improve the accuracy and consistency of geocoding, potentially through partnerships with universities or other research institutions to ensure that crash data is correctly mapped. Additionally, the state should work to ensure that data reporting is timely, focusing on creating a near-real-time data submission process – other states have seen success in this area with electronic reporting systems that are being implemented in New Jersey.
Conclusion
The interviews conducted as part of this research underscore the critical need for improved collaboration across state agencies to create more transparent, timely, and accessible crash data in New Jersey. By improving public-facing dashboards, making non-fatal crash data available to the public, and standardizing crash reporting systems, New Jersey can take meaningful steps to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries. The state has the opportunity to become a leader in crash data transparency by adopting best practices that have proven effective in other states, ultimately ensuring that all New Jersey residents—especially children and vulnerable road users—can feel safer on the road.