Create a Safety Data Dashboard

Area

Region

State

MPO

Dashboard Focus

Fatality Type

VMT Type

Fatality Rate Type

Date Range From To

Optional Crash Factors FHWA Focus Area

Type of Collision

Person Involved

Location and Setting

Dashboard Display Focus

Comparison

Display

Build Your Dashboard

The dashboards use data and definitions from the NHTSA’s FARS database, FHWA’s HEPGIS database, FHWA’s Highway Statistics Series, and FHWA’s Focused Approach to Safety. Learn more.

Start by selecting the dashboard Area. Then apply filters as you work down the column to customize your dashboard.

TIP: Click the F5 key to clear your dashboard and start with a fresh dashboard.

Additional Safety Dashboards Options

The Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST) allows users to query the motor vehicle crash data collected in NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis and Reporting System (FARS) and General Estimates System (NASS‐GES)/Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS). Users can create personalized queries of crash, vehicle, person, driver, occupant, pedestrian and pedalcyclist variables in hundreds of variable categories. FIRST includes:

Upgraded GIS crash location maps

Addition of injury and property damage crash data

Multiple ways to report data: Table, Univariate and Panel Charts

Export functions to pdf, rtf (MS Word) and csv (excel)

Download crash records (case listings) for single year FARS queries

Understanding Safety Data Dashboards

Sources of Data

The Roadway Safety Data Dashboard is a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) tool that is designed to give state and local highway agencies access to roadway fatality data in an easy to use interface. Understanding which data set and definitions the dashboards draw from is critical to understanding the dashboard you create. The dashboards use:

Crash and fatality information from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database. The 2013 FARS data set is the preliminary (1st release) version. The updated final data files for 2013 are expected in the summer/fall of 2015.
Data definitions used in the FHWA Office of Safety’s Focus Focused Approach to Safety. A key document –Technical Summary: Federal Highway Administration Focus Area Data Definitions – provides detail on how FHWA arrived at definitions for roadway departure, intersection, and pedestrian fatalities.
State and national vehicle miles traveled (VMT) from FHWA’s Highway Statistics Series
Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) boundary information are derived using FHWA’s HEPGIS tool

Data sets cover years 2004 to 2013. Previously mentioned, the 2013 FARS data set is the release 1, preliminary version of that data set. The Roadway Safety Data Dashboards will use the final data set when it becomes available in summer/fall 2015.

Roadway Functional Class and Land Use Conventions

The “Location and Setting” Optional Crash Factors dropdown menu includes several classifications regarding roadway types and the rural/urban split in crashes and fatalities. The table below shows the facility type codes which relate to each. Note that “Non-Interstate” includes each of the five listed subtypes.

			Land Use Convention
			Rural	Urban	Unknown
Roadway Functional Class & Interstate v. Non-Interstate Conventions	Interstate		1	11
	Non-Interstate	Freeway and Expressway	-	12
		Principal Arterial, Other	2	13
		Minor Arterial	3	14
		Collector (Major, Minor)	4,5	15
		Local Road or Street	6	16
	Unknown		9	19	99

Quick Reports – Predesigned Dashboards

Several predesigned dashboards are now available, allowing you to select a state or MPO and see commonly-used visualizations of crash data. The Quick Reports include:

Fatal crash rate trend for the past five years
Crashes by FHWA Focus Area (Intersection, Pedestrian/Bicyclist, Roadway Departure)
Urban versus rural crash rates
Total fatal crashes trend for the past five years
Fatality rate by roadway facility type
Fatalities for select user categories, including younger and older drivers, motorcyclists, etc.
Fatalities by roadway ownership (local, county, state)

To use a Quick Report, click on the “Quick Report” button at the top right of the dashboard creation page and select the type of Quick Report you want to create. Then follow the prompts to select a state and, if needed, comparison elements which allow you to see trends and rates for the selected state against bordering states or national averages.

Building Your Dashboard – Core v. Optional Elements

Use the dropdown menus to build your dashboard. Keep in mind that dashboards consist of core and optional elements.

The core elements include Area, Dashboard Focus, Date Range, and Dashboard Display.
Optional elements may be added to core elements and are related to Crash Factors. Crash Factors include the FHWA Focus Area, Collision Factors, Person Involved, or Location and Setting.

The Optional Crash Factors filters work the same as filters found on many online shopping sites. For example when shopping for a television you might select one or more of these filters:

The brand (you might only want to buy Brand A or Brand Z)
The type of display (LCD only, not Plasma or LED)
The display size (only above 42”)
The delivery time (only those units that can be delivered in 2-4 days)

The result of your search would be only those TVs that meet these criteria. The more filters you choose to apply to your purchase, the narrower or fewer the results.

Applying this to the crash factor filters you select one or more of these filters:

Pedestrian and Intersection FHWA Focus Areas
Involving a Young Driver (16-20) and Involving an Older Driver (65+) from Person Involved
The type of person involved in the crash
Where the crash occurred (location and setting)

The dashboard filters crashes and returns results based on the criteria you selected. The more filters you select, the more conditions you add to your search, and the narrower the search results.

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