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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
For the six year period
from 1993 to 1998, an average of 1,640 people in New York were killed
annually as a result of motor vehicle crashes. During this same period,
an average of 286,000 New Yorkers annually were injured in traffic crashes.
Data for New York City indicates that 26.7 percent of these total statewide
annual traffic fatalities, and 43 percent of total statewide crash injuries
occurred within city limits.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
In an effort to reduce
fatalities, injuries, property damage and overall costs associated with
motor vehicle crashes in New York City, the New York Police Department
(NYPD) developed TrafficStat in 1998. Objectives of the program
were to:
- Identify locations throughout
the city where crashes are most likely to occur
- Design an effective crash
analysis program to determine the primary factors that contribute
to traffic crashes at these locations
- Develop effective countermeasures
to correct hazardous conditions
- Implement a public information
and education campaign, to help the public avoid traffic dangers and
crash risks
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The NYPD
modeled the TrafficStat process after the CompStat system,
a highly-effective method for reducing crime and disorder in New York
City, that has been employed by law enforcement officers in recent years.
TrafficStat is comprised of four components: 1) Accurate and
timely intelligence; 2) Rapid deployment; 3) Effective tactics; and
4) Relentless follow-up and assessment. The TrafficStat system
is used as a tool to implement the Three E's (Engineering, Enforcement
and Education) at locations throughout the city that are identified
as crash-prone. The identification process, along with an analysis of
crash factors and suggestions for correcting unsafe conditions, takes
place at monthly TrafficStat meetings. Specific countermeasures
associated with the Three E's include:
- Engineering—changing
the timing of a traffic light; adding a turn arrow; installing signs
or barriers; painting new pavement markings
- Enforcement—targeted
enforcement of unsafe driving violations at specific times of day,
days of the week, or locations identified as crash-prone
- Education—public
information and education campaigns are conducted to increase New
Yorker's awareness of traffic hazards and crash risks. Programs include:
Safety City, a collaborative effort between the NYPD and the
New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), designed to educate
third graders about traffic safety; traffic safety outreach by precinct
traffic safety and community affairs officers to various associations
and senior citizens groups; and conducting safety checkpoints crash-prone
locations, where officers distribute traffic safety literature
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