The introduction of a new collision data recording system could be one of the reasons behind a significant increase in KSI casualties in figures recently released by the DfT.
The DfT has suggested that police forces using the new Collision Recording and Sharing (CRASH) system are recording up to 15% more serious injuries than their colleagues, according to a news article on the Police Professional website.
CRASH was adopted by almost half of English forces between January and May last year. The system records injuries suffered by the casualty and automatically converts them to a severity classification, rather than relying on police officer judgment.
The latest DfT data shows that total casualties fell by 4% to 182,560 in the 12 months to September 2016. More than 1,800 people died in these incidents, up 2% on the previous year, and the total number of KSIs rose by 6% to 25,160. 28% of these casualty statistics were recorded on CRASH.
The DfT suggests CRASH provide a more accurate picture, and inaccurate recording in the past may have led forces to underestimate the severity of injuries sustained on Britain’s roads.
The Government now plans to commission research and will publish its findings later in the year – including back-estimates of how past injury data could have differed if forces were using CRASH.
The CRASH section of the DfT report can be found on page ten.
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