Locating Crashes¶
The first step in this project’s workflow is to identify the location of the crash. The crash documentation is generated from the FR300 report that is completed by the responding police officer. This report contains location details pertaining to the crash that may include: a referenced intersection, jurisdiction, landmarks, mile marker, address, narrative, and diagram. When locating a crash, all of the information must be evaluated in order to create an accurate representation of the crash. Defaulting to only one piece of information can lead to incorrect crash locations. The following order of operations will guide the decision making process to locate a crash.
Note
The use of multiple monitors is recommended for this workflow.
Step 1: Review all of the information¶
Before searching for the crash location, review the intersection information provided, read the crash narrative, and examine the crash diagram . The intersection information is summarized in the ‘Current TREDS Record’ section in the upper left corner of the main window. The narrative, landmarks, and diagram will appear in a pop-up tab that will load with the crash record.
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Crash Diagram ¶
The crash diagram page will automatically load as a pop-up tab with each crash record. If closed, this tab can be reopened by clicking the diagram button .
The crash diagram page contains the narrative, any landmark(s), and diagram provided by the responding officer. Use the rotation tools to orient the image according to the north arrow or other distinguishable features. Be aware that the diagrams will vary in the amount of detail and the orientation may not be accurate. The diagram should help identify the first harmful event of the crash to guide the placement of the new point.
Landmark information will only be shown if it is included in the crash documentation. Landmarks can include road names, addresses, businesses, or other relevant descriptions.
Sample crash diagrams.
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Step 2: Examine the given Latitude & Longitude ¶
Identify the location of the latitude and longitude of the crash provided by the police officer. A green dot on the map will represent the latitude and longitude location. When necessary, use the target icon to search for the coordinates. This information is not always available and its accuracy is highly variable.
Lat/Long Location Symbol
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Step 3: Find the intersection ¶
Every crash is referenced to an intersection. It will either be located in the given intersection or a distance and direction away from the intersection. There are automated processes used to improve the format of the road names to drive the search queries. To view the original inputs from the police officer, click the plus sign to the right of the road name. Be aware that some additional information may be included with the road names, such as an address number, supplemental road names, or landmarks.
The system will attempt to locate the geometric intersection of the road center line segments for the primary and secondary roads. When successful, the intersection icon will be highlighted in green. Clicking the intersection icon will cycle through all possible intersection locations identified by the system. A green cross hair will be shown on the map to assist in finding the intersection.
Intersection map symbol
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If a route number is given instead of a road name, check the box next to the ‘Primary’ or ‘Secondary’ label. This will allow the system to query the data for route numbers.
If the intersection is unable to be identified automatically, click the ‘Primary’ or ‘Secondary’ label to highlight the query results for the given road name.
Example highlighted query results when searching for a single road name.
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When necessary, manual corrections can be made to the road name by clicking the text.
Example of manual edits to road name.
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Step 4: Measure ¶
Using the measure tool, measure the appropriate distance and direction from the identified intersection. Click once to add a vertex to the measurement line; double-click to finish the line.
Be aware that the distance and direction may be an estimation in many cases. Compare the location to the lat/long and other crash documentation.
Step 5: Search for additional information¶
Some crash records will include additional information that can be helpful for geocoding the crash. Use the following tools to examine all of the details in the crash documentation:
Address ¶
Address numbers may be included in several fields within the crash record. Look within the narrative, ‘Primary’ and ‘Secondary’ road names, and the landmarks for possible address numbers. Use the address search tools to identify the location according to the VGIN locator service.
Mile Marker ¶
If mile marker information is included in the crash documentation, it will be shown below the distance and direction. The mile marker is not a reliable source to locate a crash due inconsistencies in the reference data across the state. When the mile marker is all that is given use the search tools to find the location. An additional use case would be if there are multiple intersections between the two provided roads.
Landmarks ¶
Landmark information can be included within the crash narrative, diagram, or the landmarks field shown on the diagram page. This could be an address number, street name, or business name. Use the google search tools to help identify the location of the given landmark.
Step 6: Create a new crash point ¶
Examine all of the information provided and identify the most accurate representation of the crash location. The new crash point should be located at the “first harmful event”. For single car crashes, this would be where the vehicle initially loses control or runs off the road. If multiple cars are involved, this would be the initial impact. Use the crash placement tool to create a point on the map. This tool uses a toggle button, allowing multiple clicks to move the crash point as needed.
Step 7: Set the location class¶
The system relies on a location classification to determine which attributes are required for a given crash:
- ‘At Intersection’
- ‘Address’
- ‘Interstate’
- ‘Parking Lot’
Refer to the location class documentation for guidance on choosing the appropriate class.
Step 8: Assign road attributes¶
When a new crash point has been created, all of the road attributes that are found within the search radius will appear in the ‘Available Roads’ tables. Each table in the ‘Available Roads’ panel represents a different reference layer. Click the appropriate attributes from each table to automatically assign them to the new crash point.
The first click within a table will select the primary road’s attributes, indicated by green highlighting. The second click will select the secondary road’s attributes, indicated by beige highlighting. Clicking a third time will restart the selection process, clearing the previously selected attributes. Note that every time a new crash point is created, all of the attributes need to be reassigned.
Available Roads Tables.
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Clicking on the road name within the ‘VGIN Roads’ table allows other descriptors to be appended to the street name when necessary. See additional documentation for detailed information on the street name descriptors.
Street name options.
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Step 9: Verify crash attributes¶
During the attribute selection process, it is very important to remain consistent with assigning attributes to the primary and secondary roads. Hovering on a row in the 'Available Roads' tables will highlight the corresponding road segment in the map for verification. Note that the VGIN road center line (RCL) road name is the only attribute provided for the secondary road.
The primary road should be the road on which the crash occurred. In most cases, this will match the police officer’s documentation. This can be subject to change if the crash point is clearly located on the intersecting roadway.
The selected VDOT LRS Roads route common name (rte_common) should match the primary VGIN road. When available, it is best to select the VDOT LRS option that has the properly formatted route number. This represents the authoritative VDOT segment versus the local road segment that uses the street name. If the VDOT segment is not present, use the local road option in its place.
Attribute selection.
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Review the selected attributes on the left-hand side of the screen, in the updated crash record. Verify that the attributes selected correctly represent the new crash location.
Updated crash record
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Step 10: Comments ¶
Describe any inconsistencies that were discovered during the locating of the crash or the assigning of attributes. Comments aid the review process to make sure that no mistakes are made before the data is sent back to the DMV.
Step 11: Save and continue ¶
Once the crash has been located and properly attributed, click the save button. The crash record will be reviewed and uploaded to TREDS. If any errors are found, the crash may be sent back with a request for corrections. Do not hesitate to ask question during any part of the process.