Research and analysis

Road accident in-depth studies (RAIDS)

Published 23 December 2013

Introduction

The Department for Transport has investigated road traffic collisions for many years to support strategies to make our roads safer. These investigations differ from those of the police because they are designed to understand how people are injured rather than necessarily determine responsibility for the collision.

Road Accident In-Depth Studies (RAIDS) brings together different types of investigation from earlier studies into a single programme combining existing data with new in a common and comprehensive database.

There are 2 types of investigation:

• a crash scene investigation done at the time of the collision while the emergency services are still present - these focus on the vehicle, the road user and the highway issues and can include non-injury crashes and those with relatively minor vehicle damage
• a backward-looking investigation which examines vehicles that have had to be recovered from the crash site having suffered more serious damage and where the occupants have attended hospital due to their injuries

Why collect data?

In-depth studies provide an opportunity to understand how crashes occur and, from this understanding, contribute to the development of safer roads and safer vehicles.

Detailed information is collected about the crash site, including highway features and environmental factors. Vehicle damage can be matched to the injuries received in the crash, allowing understanding of how vehicle design can be improved.

The data collected will help:

identify the crash scenarios, including contributory factors relating to the vehicle, road and road users, which lead to collisions of varying severities

• identify how people are injured in road traffic collisions, the injuries they sustain, and how these correlate to vehicle characteristics and highway design features

• establish the extent to which a range of safety related measures have reduced the risk of injury to road users involved in collisions

• identify measures to reduce further the risk of collisions and injuries (in terms of vehicle design and safety, the road environment and traffic management and human factors)

What data are collected?

RAIDS does not collect personal data such as name, address or date of birth. Similarly, RAIDS does not collect the registration mark (licence plate) of the vehicle. This information is seen in the early stages of the investigation at which point the investigation is given a randomly generated reference number; the personal details are not recorded or added to the database.

Vehicle

Vehicle damage is recorded both by written observation and by photograph. Expert investigators will interpret the damage to understand the nature and severity of the collision and how the damage to the vehicle may have caused the injuries to the casualty (driver and rider, passengers and pillions, cyclists or pedestrians).

Highway

At the scene of the collision, details of the road layout, road condition and roadside objects (e.g. road signs, lamp posts, vegetation) are recorded to understand if they may have had an influence on the collision. If the investigation is being carried out immediately after the collision the environmental conditions (weather, visibility due to lighting conditions) are also recorded.

Injury

When a person attends hospital due to the injuries suffered in a collision the staff at the hospital will create a record of the injuries - what part of the body was injured and how severe the injuries are. We have permission under Section 251 of the NHS Act to request these limited data from the medical professionals. However, the data they supply are anonymised and we do not have access to medical records at any time.

From questionnaires

A certain number of people who have been injured will be sent a voluntary questionnaire so that we can get more in depth detail about them and their injuries, the effect of their injuries and their view on how the collision occurred. These questionnaires offer a greater insight into the way a collision occurs.

To avoid causing unnecessary upset we take great care not to send a questionnaire to casualties over the age of 75, those that received a serious head injury, those in a collision that involved a fatality or a collision in which they or their family and friends sustained a life threatening injury.

Data security

Data security is taken extremely seriously by the Department for Transport and the systems for data collection, handling and storage that we use have been fully assessed against the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Mandatory Minimum Measures detailed in Cabinet Office guidance. The security requirements for our database were established by security consultants and have been tested by independent auditors.

The RAIDS database does not contain reference to an individual’s name, address, date of birth or vehicle registration number. Personal details are viewed at police premises at the beginning of the investigation to allow us to write to individuals and the medical care team. This is done on police premises and the details are not seen by members of the investigating team who see the crash and injury data and provide data for inclusion in the database.

Who can see the data?

RAIDS data are protected in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998. The database is available for use by researchers but only with permission of the Department for Transport. Access is restricted by password controls and the database is constructed to record not only those that have accessed the data but also to show which data have been accessed.

The security procedures are not intended to restrict or in any way limit the opportunities for the data to help deliver the ambition to reduce the levels of road casualties. Access will be granted where it is clear that it is for legitimate research intended to improve road safety and where the applicant’s own data security management is appropriate for the data that they wish to access

Who we work with

Specialist collision investigators and medical experts are contracted to via our contractor of Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

These organisations have considerable experience in road safety research and data collection.

TRL work closely with:

• Thames Valley and Hampshire Police forces
• HM Coroners for Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire

The team also collaborate with:

• the South Central Ambulance Service and John Radcliffe Hospital
• University Hospital Southampton
• Frimley Park Hospital
• Royal Berkshire Hospital
• Portsmouth Queen Alexandra hospital

Where are data collected?

TRL attend the scene of crashes and examine vehicles that have been involved in police reported collisions in the Thames Valley and Hampshire regions.

Together the TRL regions contain a good mix of A class, B class, rural and urban roads and motorway environments. The range of road types and socio-economic characteristics over the two regions ensure the teams jointly investigate a collection of crashes that can help to explain crashes and injuries occuring across Great Britain.

Further information

Please send your enquiry to RAIDS@dft.gov.uk