SHSP Literature Review - An Assessment of PR … Review Final...SHSP Literature Review - An...

SHSP Literature Review - An

Assessment of PR Highway Safety

Plans & Procedures

Working Together Toward Highway Safety...

To Save More Lives

April 2014 CSA Architects and Engineers, LLP 1064 Ponce de Leon Ave. | CSA Plaza | Suite 500 San Juan, PR 00907-374 T: 787.641.6800 x 238 | F: 787.641.6850

Submitted to: Samuel Forestier Castillo, PE Traffic Engineering and Operations Area Director PRHTA PO Box 42007 San Juan PR 00940 – 2007

PR Strategic Highway

Safety Plan

PUERTO RICO

STRATEGIC HIGHWAY SAFETY PLAN

Highway Safety Literature Review

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Executive Summary

The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) establishes priorities to the Departments of

Transportation in the nation to reduce crashes along the entire highway system. Per MAP-21, States and Territories

shall prepare a Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) with the objective of reducing fatalities and serious injuries on

their respective highway systems.

The SHSP shall be a data driven planning document that integrates multiple safety stakeholders from governmental

agencies, private entities and non-profit organizations. In addition, it is specified that the SHSP shall be coordinated

and/or synchronized with other safety related plans independently prepared by the various governmental agencies in

Puerto Rico. As such, it is important to assess the current Safety Plans developed for Puerto Rico, as well as crash

databases and other tools used by the public sector agencies in developing their respective Safety Plans. Furthermore,

the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority (PRHTA) will use several crash databases for analyzing the

trends and statistics related to crashes in Puerto Rico. Hence, it is of upmost importance to understand the limitations

in the data gathering process and the tools employed to retrieve said information.

This report, prepared as part of the SHSP development process, provides the Puerto Rico current practice in highway

safety planning, crash data gathering and management. The Highway Safety Literature Review included the following

documents/references:

Interim SHSP for Puerto Rico

2040 Long Range Transportation Plan

Statewide Transportation Improvement Program

Highway Safety Plan

Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Plan

Fatal Analysis Reporting System

PRHTA Crash Database and Crash Analysis Reporting Environment (CARE) System

Automobile Accident Compensation Administration

Citation Data

GIS Data

Behavioral Survey (DUI and Seatbelt)

Police Accident Reports

The preparation of a SHSP creates an opportunity for integrating the transportation plans, more specifically in relation

to safety initiatives/strategies. Each planning document evaluated follows a unique format in terms of goal definition,

strategies, emphasis areas, metrics, and years of execution. The SHSP initiative provides an unprecedented

opportunity to set guidelines at the State level to unify and align these parameters.

Another important element to consider is the integration of technology in the data gathering/management processes.

The data gathering process may benefit from GPS and other electronic tools that facilitate the location of crashes and

the flow of information without the need for additional manual data entry. The use of technology and personnel

training will help to achieve an integrated and complete database between the primarily responsible governmental

agencies. Hence, having a more efficient, reliable and accurate crash information system is essential for crash analysis.

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Although Emergency Medical Services (part of the 4 Es) is considered a cornerstone in achieving a significant reduction

in fatal and serious injury crashes, in Puerto Rico the active participation and integration of EMS in the area of

transportation planning is limited. One main objective for the SHSP shall be to incorporate specific strategies and

coordination with EMS representatives.

Finally, the PRHTA is executing an aggressive highway safety improvement program (HSIP). Currently, the agency has

allocated 25% of FHWA funds for highway safety improvements projects. The PRHTA shall consider the use of a

comprehensive Islandwide approach in selecting safety improvement projects based on the KABCO severity index

classification system and incremental benefit cost analysis. The selection of hot spots/corridors will be facilitated with

the use of GIS technology for accurately identifying the location of crashes. Puerto Rico shall also consider creating its

own Crash Modification Factor (CMF) database.

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List of Acronyms/Abbreviations

AADT Average Annual Daily Traffic

ACAA Automobile Accident Compensation Administration (in Spanish)

AAO Accident Analysis Office

BAC Blood Alcohol Content

CAPS Center for Advanced Public Safety

CARE Critical Analysis Reporting Environment

CU Causing Unit

DTPW Department of Transportation and Public Works

DUI Driving Under the Influence

F+I Fatal and Injury

FARS Fatality Analysis Reporting System

FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

GIS Geographic Information System

GPS Global Positioning System

HPMS Highway Performance Monitoring System

KM Kilometer

MCSAP Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program

MIRE Model Inventory of Roadway Elements

MMUCC Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria

NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

PAR Police Accident Record

PDO Property Damage Only

PR Puerto Rico

PRPD Puerto Rico Police Department

PRTSC Puerto Rico Traffic Safety Commission

PRHTA Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority

RSA Road Safety Audit

LRTP Long Range Transportation Plan

STIP Statewide Transportation Improvement Program

CVSP Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan

HSP Highway Safety Plan

TMCQ TMC Qualitative

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................ i

List of Acronyms/Abbreviation .................................................................................................................... iii

1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 1

2. PR Transportation Plans ........................................................................................................................ 3

2.1.Interim Strategic Highway Safety Plan for Puerto Rico .................................................................... 3

2.2.Highway Safety Plan from the PRTSC ............................................................................................... 6

2.3.Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)............................................................... 11

2.4.Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan from the Public Service Commission .......................................... 13

2.5.Long Range Transportation Plan (2040) ......................................................................................... 15

2.6.Findings and Recommendations .................................................................................................... 17

3. Crash Databases .................................................................................................................................. 20

3.1.Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) ........................................................................................ 21

3.2.PRHTA Crash Database and CARE System ...................................................................................... 21

3.3.Automobile Accident Compensation Administration (ACAA) ........................................................ 29

3.4.Traffic Citation Data ....................................................................................................................... 29

3.5.GIS Data .......................................................................................................................................... 31


3.6.1.Data Limitation ..................................................................................................................... 31

3.6.2.Opportunities for Improvement ........................................................................................... 32

4. Behavioral Surveys .............................................................................................................................. 33

4.1.DUI Survey ...................................................................................................................................... 33

4.2.Use of Seatbelt Survey ................................................................................................................... 33


5. Data Gathering Tools .......................................................................................................................... 34

5.1.Police Report .................................................................................................................................. 34

5.1.1.Format ................................................................................................................................... 34

5.2.Data Entry Process .......................................................................................................................... 35

5.2.1.Selection of Applicable Crashes ............................................................................................ 35

5.2.2.Zoning (Location by Maps or Kilometers) ............................................................................. 35

5.2.3.Codification ........................................................................................................................... 36

5.2.4.Data Entry ............................................................................................................................. 36

5.3.Opportunities to Automate or Improve Process ............................................................................ 37

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5.3.1.Use of GIS .............................................................................................................................. 37

5.3.2.Use of Tablets ....................................................................................................................... 37

5.3.3.Others ................................................................................................................................... 38

5.4.Findings and Recommendations to Update Processes and Tools .................................................. 38

6. Conclusions ......................................................................................................................................... 40

7. References .......................................................................................................................................... 41

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1. Introduction

This report was prepared as part of the requirements for the development of the Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP)

for Puerto Rico. The PRHTA’s approach to develop the SHSP for Puerto Rico consists of a data gathering and analysis

phase followed by an interactive/participative Safety Summit with the objective of receiving ideas/strategies to reduce

fatal and serious accidents on our highway system. The figure below depicts the events that will take place for the

preparation of the SHSP.

Prepare Package for PR

Safety Summit

Pre-Selection of

Emphasis Areas

Pre-Safety Summit Work

Case Studies Stakeholder’s Survey Highway Safety

Literature Review

Analysis of Crash Data

to Identify Trends and

Preliminary Emphasis

Areas

Safety Summit ReportPR Safety Summit

Work Session

(Strategies)

PR SHSP Report

Due on August 2014 PR SHSP Preparation

Strategies, Goals &

Metric Discussion

Safety Summit

SHSP Preparation

Data Gathering

Data Analysis /

Preselection of

Emphasis Areas

Strategies

Development /

Analysis

Implementation

Planning &

Documentation

The Highway Safety Literature Review report (highlighted in the figure above) is part of the data gathering phase,

taking place prior to the Safety Summit. The purpose of the report is to present the local practice in terms of

transportation safety planning, crash databases, and the tools for gathering and analyzing crash information.

Per the requirements of Moving Ahead for Progress for the 21st Century (MAP-21), the SHSP shall be a data driven

planning document that integrates multiple safety stakeholders. In addition, the SHSP shall be coordinated and/or

synchronized with other safety related plans prepared by Government Agencies of Puerto Rico. As such, it is important

to assess the current Safety Plans developed for Puerto Rico, as well as crash databases and other tools used by the

governmental agencies in developing their Safety Plans. For the SHSP development, the PRHTA will use several crash

databases. Hence, it is of the upmost importance to understand the scope of the available information reviewed and

the tools employed to retrieve said information.

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As part of the review effort, several documents, databases, and tools were reviewed. The documents fall within the

following three (3) categories:

Transportation Plans

Traffic Records (Including Crash Databases and Processing Platforms)

Data Collection/Processing/tools

The transportation plans include those safety/programming plans already prepared by Puerto Rico in compliance with

Federal requirements. Among the transportation plans we have the Interim Strategic Highway Safety Plan (Interim

SHSP), developed by the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority (PRHTA) in 2013; the PR Highway Safety

Plan, prepared by the Puerto Rico Traffic Safety Commission for 2014; the 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP);

the Statewide Transportation Plan (STIP) and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan (CVSP), prepared by the Public

Service Commission.

In terms of the databases, this report evaluates the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the crash database from

the Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW), the use of the Critical Analysis Reporting Environment

(CARE) system, the Automobile Accident Compensation Administration (ACAA by its acronyms in Spanish), traffic

citation data and the GIS information available. This report focused on the most immediate needs for the upcoming

Safety Summit. However, future analyses will include other traffic records important for the SHSP development and

implementation.

Finally, the data collection/processing included the evaluation of the form used by the PR Police Department to report

on crashes, and the process/tools used for data entry into the databases.

For each of the categories, a summary of the findings, limitations and potential areas for improvement are presented.

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2. PR Transportation Plans

A SHSP is a major component and requirement of the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) (23 U.S.C. § 148). It

is a coordinated safety plan that provides a comprehensive framework for reducing highway fatalities and serious

injuries on all public roads. The SHSP will identify Puerto Rico's key safety needs and guide investment decisions

toward strategies and countermeasures with the greatest potential to save lives and prevent injuries.

Per FHWA recommendations, it is a priority to include safety initiatives/projects as part of all transportation plans. The

figure below shows how the SHSP integrates the Long term plans (i.e., Metropolitan Transportation Plans and the

LRTP) with the midterm safety plans (i.e., CMVSP, HSP and other local plans) and short term project execution of safety

projects included in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) as part of the HSIP.

Highway Safety

Plan (HSP)

Commercial Motor

Vehicle Safety Plan

(CMVSP)

Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP)

Islandwide Long Range Transportation

Plan (UAs & Rural)

Metropolitan

Transportation Plans

(Urbanized Areas)

Highway Safety Improvement

Program (HSIP)

Statewide Transportation Improvement

Program (STIP)

Transportation Improvement

Program (TIP) – Urbanized

Areas

Other Local Plans

This section includes a review of the Interim SHSP, the HSP, the STIP, the CMVSP and the current LRTP. It presents a

description of the emphasis areas, strategies, goals, and actions from each plan.

2.1. Interim Strategic Highway Safety Plan for Puerto Rico

The PRHTA, in a joint effort with the PRTSC and the DTPW, published an Interim SHSP in 2013 (Submitted to FHWA on

April 18, 2013). The Interim SHSP defines four (4) Emphasis Areas:

Traffic Crash Records and Information Systems

Roadway Departure

Pedestrian and Cyclists

Driver Behavior

The Interim SHSP was developed by the Interim SHSP Steering

Committee, composed of the PRHTA, PRTSC, FHWA and the

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) key

safety personnel. The Interim SHSP presents the Puerto Rico

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crash trends in terms of fatalities and injuries. However, the detailed information shown is for fatalities from FARS.

The table below depicts the traffic crash trends (from PRTSC and NHTSA).

Category 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Number of Fatalities 452 406 365 340 361

Number of Serious Injuries 41,341 38,448 36,965 35,530 35,533

Fatalities per 100 Million

VMT 2.35 2.08 1.92 1.83 1.96

No. of Roadway Departures

Fatalities 160 126 129 132 129

No. of Pedestrian Fatalities 144 127 109 101 111

No. of Speeding-Related

Fatalities 228 162 156 135 138

No. of Alcohol Related

Fatalities 193 172 138 110 103

For each Emphasis Area, the Interim SHSP presents background information (including statistical data), objectives and

the strategies. Among the strategies for each of the Emphasis Areas, the interim SHSP includes:

Emphasis Area Strategies

Traffic Crash Records

and Information

Systems

1. Reduce the backlog of motor vehicle crash data from five years to less than

one year.

2. Support the implementation of the new PAR that updates all the crash data

fields including the commercial motor vehicle data fields.

3. Train traffic law enforcement agencies on how to collect complete and

accurate crash data that supports the new PAR.

4. Provide direct access to crash data reports and information to stakeholders.

5. Acquire a user-friendly data analysis software tool.

6. Continue the program of kilometer and hectometer marker installations on all

State Roads so that crashes can be located for analysis purposes.

Roadway Departure

1. Upgrade guardrail systems, crash cushions and concrete barrier installations to

NCHRP 350 standards.

2. Install, replace or enhance pavement markings, signing and delineation in

compliance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Highways

and Streets (MUTCD).

3. Remove, relocate, or protect trees and utility poles located within the clear

zone of high crash locations or roadways with common characteristics where

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these crashes occur.

4. Install rumble strips on high speed, rural, or high crash locations.

5. Educate transportation professionals on new and innovative roadway

departure countermeasures.

6. Enhance targeted enforcement activities on high speed, rural, or high crash

corridors.

7. Pilot innovative engineering countermeasures targeting roadway departure

crashes.

8. Revise islandwide roadside safety standard drawings and specifications to

include new and innovative roadway departure countermeasures.

9. Provide the necessary tools to improve performance of EMS and first

responders to crash incidents.

Pedestrian and

Cyclists

1. Provide assistance to communities for developing and implementing local

pedestrian safety improvement projects.

2. Educate all road users about Puerto Rico Vehicle and Traffic Law (Law # 22) and

recent amendments.

3. Enhance police department’s enforcement of existing traffic regulations,

particularly at high risk locations.

4. Provide training to police officers on the rights and duties of cyclists and

pedestrians.

5. Evaluate provisions for incorporating ped/bike facilities on all new road

construction or reconstruction, and rehabilitation projects.

6. Implement traffic calming measures in high-volume pedestrian areas.

7. Implement targeted “Share the Road” and Pedestrian Awareness campaign to

provide information and enhance awareness to all road users.

8. Support the implementation of the Complete Streets concept in highway

design.

Driver Behavior

1. Develop and implement driver behavior educational media campaigns focused

on speeding, impaired and distracted driving.

2. Support the development of a program of surveys to help measure the

effectiveness of the driver behavior strategies.

3. Support the acquisition of speed radar, equipment, and vehicle maintenance

activities to law enforcement agencies to increase police enforcement.

4. Support sustained and high-visibility traffic law enforcement strategies and

activities, tailored to high risk drivers and locations.

5. Support the development of educational and training programs for traffic law

enforcement and first responder agencies on crash site and incident

investigations including commercial motor vehicles to work with the scenes

caused by driver behavior related crashes.

6. Pilot innovative and/or proven engineering countermeasures targeting driver

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behavior.

7. Support the enhancement of the judicial and prosecution training program on

enforcement of traffic laws, crash and traffic incident investigations.

The Interim SHSP is a first successful step towards the development of a more participative and collaborative planning

document. One of the limitations of the Interim SHSP is that only FARS data was used and there was no opportunity

for a broader range of safety stakeholders to collaborate in developing strategies and recommendations resulting in

common islandwide safety goals and priorities. However, the implementation of the SHSP will result in a more

efficient and integrated way to reduce fatalities and serious injuries.

2.2. Highway Safety Plan from the PRTSC

Highway Safety Plans (HSPs) address behavioral safety areas (e.g., occupant protection, impaired driving, police traffic

services, emergency medical services, motorcycle safety, etc). It is a requirement of the National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA). NHTSA, under the U.S. Department of Transportation, was established by the Highway

Safety Act of 1970 as the successor to the National Highway Safety Bureau, to carry out safety programs under the

National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and the Highway Safety Act of 1966. The Vehicle Safety Act has

subsequently been re-codified under Title 49 of the U. S. Code in Chapter 301, Motor Vehicle Safety. NHTSA also

carries out consumer programs established by the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act of 1972, which has

been re-codified in various Chapters under Title 49.

NHTSA requires that Puerto Rico prepare the HSP and that the before-mentioned plan shall be synchronized with the

SHSP (i.e., in agreement, in terms of Emphasis Areas, strategies, performance measures and goals). In Puerto Rico, the

HSP is prepared by the PRTSC. These activities are coordinated with the Puerto Rico Police Department as the primary

law enforcement agency. The PRTSC provides training and many other activities designed to reduce motor vehicle

crash-related injuries and fatalities. The HSP included a problem identification analysis, several emphasis areas and

goals, as depicted in the following section.

Puerto Rico’s Problem Identification

There are 16,694 roadway miles in Puerto Rico and in 2011 there were 3,619,499 licensed drivers and 3,084,543

registered vehicles. Over 200,000 traffic crashes occur every year in Puerto Rico, resulting in more than 35,000 injuries

and 366 fatalities in 2012. The age distribution, population size, topography, climate and the vast number of vehicles

(per square mile) are important factors in the evaluation of the traffic crash information.

The Puerto Rico Highway Safety Plan (FY 2014) Problem ID, from the Puerto Rico Traffic Safety Commission (PRTSC)

includes the following summary table:

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Traffic Crash Trends

Indicator 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Registered Vehicles 3,129,561 3,026,815 3,020,455 3,084,543 3,500,941

Licensed Drivers 2,017,055 2,628,207 3,102,941 3,619,499 2,991,904

Roadway Miles 16,576 16,680 16,693 16,694 Not

Available

VMT 194.3 190.1 185.7 183.9 Not

Available

Total Crashes 287,798 210,721 202,335 190,170 232,012*

Total Injuries 39,100 38,748 37,396 35,592 35,219

Fatal Crashes 386 343 330 343 354

Total Fatalities 406 365 340 361 366

*Preliminarily provided by the PRPD

The priority areas identified by the PRTSC, based on their own analysis, are:

Alcohol – Impaired driving fatalities represent 45% of the total fatalities in Puerto Rico. These fatalities

typically occurred at nights and during weekends. Males comprise 85% of these fatalities and the age group

24-49 is the most at risk with 49%. The majority of alcohol related fatal crashes occurred on State Roads PR-1,

2, 3, 22 and 52.

Motorcycle – Motorcyclists represent 15% of the total fatalities. The available crash data indicates that 99% of

these are males and the predominant age group is 18-36. An interesting fact is that Sunday is the day of the

week when most fatalities related to motorcycles occur. Another fact to note is that 70% of motorcyclists

killed were not helmeted.

Occupant Protection – In relation to occupant protection, males represent 81% of unrestrained occupant

fatalities and ages 18-36 reflect the greatest number with 51%. These fatalities typically occur between

6:00pm and midnight and also during weekends.

Non-Occupant – This priority area represents 34% of all fatalities reported. Of theses, 30% are pedestrian

fatalities. Males represent 71% of all pedestrian fatalities and the 63+ age group is at a higher risk. The

greatest number of non-occupant fatalities occurred after 6:00 pm in the metropolitan areas of San Juan,

Aguadilla, Ponce and Mayaguez.

In reviewing the data described above, it can be observed that Puerto Rico has been achieving significant results in the

reduction of fatalities, especially when considering that back in 1987 there were 648 traffic fatalities in Puerto Rico.

Many efforts from the PRTSC, the PRHTA, and the Police Department, among others, have yielded significant results.

The most significant achievements are as follows:

Puerto Rico was the first jurisdiction to pass a mandatory Safety Belt Law in 1974. As a result, a 2012 survey

showed a 90.2% usage rate and 94.7% use of child restraints.

Major legislation was passed for reducing BAC from 0.15% to 0.10% and then to 0.08%.

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A new traffic law and executive order that increased penalties for traffic violations and promoted sobriety

checkpoints was passed during the mid-90s.

An aggressive Public Information and Education (PI&E) campaign and high visibility enforcement

Funding for vehicles, equipment, training and other resources for Education and Enforcement activities

Law 201, enacted in 2013 that prohibits cell phone use while driving.

Continuous efforts from the Safety Engineering office at the PRHTA in promoting the latest safety engineering

standards, including Standard Drawings, Design Directives, and seminars

Continuous Police Department crackdown/selective enforcement efforts

The PRTSC HSP for 2014 includes several Behavioral Programs, and goals as depicted below. The program

identification and the respective goals were developed considering the problem identification effort previously

discussed.

Program Performance Goals Performance Measures

Alcohol-

Impaired

Driving

To reduce 5% of alcohol-related fatalities

from 2011 to 2014 (i.e., 161 fatalities in 2011

to 153 in 2014).

To increase the number of police agencies

participating in HVE’s from 23 to 35 in 2014

To conduct five alcohol mobilizations during

2014.

To coordinate at least four alcohol training

sessions for the PR Police Department and

Municipal Police in 2014.

To conduct at least one training for judges

and one for prosecutors during 2014.

Number and percentage of alcohol-related

fatalities

Number of DWI interventions and arrests

Youth Alcohol To reduce 20% of youth alcohol-related

fatalities from 35 in 2011 to 28 in 2014.

Number of young drivers involved in alcohol

related fatality crashes

Number of peer presentations

Number of youths reached

Police Traffic

Services

To reduce in 5% of speed related fatalities

from 134 in 2013 to 127 in 2014.

Number of traffic violations for speeding and

other moving citations

Number of police officers trained

Number of police agencies participating in

national campaigns

Number of police agencies visited and oriented

and site visits reports.

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Planning and

Administration

Implement and maintain police procedures

that provide for effective, efficient and

economical operation and evaluation of the

Highway Safety Program.

Provide full support for all legislative.

amendments that will improve traffic safety

(i.e., increase penalties to unauthorized

and/or suspended licensed drivers, for

second offenders distracted drivers and

unrestrained vehicle occupants).

Prioritize problems and manage the received

funds adequately

To develop, coordinate, monitor and

administratively evaluate traffic safety grants

identified in the Plan

To promote the PR Highway Traffic Safety

Programs

To contract professional services to develop a

coordinated HSP to NHTSA by July 1st according

to PRTSC traffic safety priorities and in

accordance to MAP-21

To contract professional services for HSP annual

reports

Monitor performance of Sub-Grantees

Continue to expand technology applications

Single Audit for FY 2012-13

Occupant

Protection

Reduce 5% of unrestrained related fatalities

from 99 in 2012 to 94 in 2014.

Increase safety belt use from 90.2% in 2012

to 92% in 2014.

Increase child restraint use from 94.7% in

2012 to 95% in 2014.

Increase five additional fitting stations from

63 in 2012 to 68 in 2014.

To certify 25 more technicians from 84 in

2012 to 109 in 2014.

To participate in the 2014 National Click it or

Ticket (CIOT) Mobilization.

Number of seatbelts and child restraint non-

usage citations

Number of police agencies participating in the

CIOT mobilization

Number of child seats inspections and clinics

checkpoints

Amount of additional fitting stations

Amount of new CPS Technicians

Number of paid media and earned media units.

Community

Program

Maintain the PRTSC’s traffic safety

educational efforts in all 78 municipalities to

reduce traffic fatalities from 366 in 2012 to

350 in 2014.

Reduce the number of fatalities at the

municipal level in high incident

municipalities.

Number of educational traffic safety activities

conducted

Number of fatalities by municipal area

Number of citizens that received direct

orientations and educational and promotional

material in the activities

Number of coordination efforts with local law

enforcement.

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Traffic Record

To collect data of the PAR by the end of the

calendar year from 0% in 2012 to 25% in

2014.

To reduce the time between crash and data

availability in the analysis Accidents Office

(DOT) from 916 days in 2011 to 365 in 2014

by reducing the crash records backlog.

To increase project CARE access from 6 TRCC

members in 2012 to 12 members in 2014.

To integrate FARS into Puerto Rico CARE

Database from 9% to 15% in 2014.

To integrate the drunk drivers criminal.

record of the Criminal Justice Information

System (DOJ) with the DAVID+ Database

System (DOT) from 0% in 2012 to 25%

integration in 2014.

Number of Digital PAR

The time between crash and data availability in

the database

Number of members that have access to

Project CARE

Number of update driver records with DWI

cases

Non-Occupant

Protection

To reduce pedestrians fatalities using 5 year

rolling average from 110 in 2012 to 95 in

2014.

To reduce cyclist fatalities using 5 year

rolling average from 12.4 in 2012 to 12 in

2014.

Number of non-occupants fatalities

number of pedestrians fatalities

Number of cyclists fatalities

number of people reached with the educational

programs

Traffic

Engineering

To inspect and evaluate multiple road sites

with reported traffic safety issues, from 16 in

2013 to 24 in 2014.

To coordinate and promote Professional

Highway Safety Education, from 4 in 2013 to

6 in 2014.

To increase number of site visits and refer

traffic safety issues to DOT, from 8 in 2013

to 16 in 2014.

To monitor and manage on-going projects.

To promote replacement and up-grades of

traffic control devices in road systems, from

4 in 2013 to 6 in 2014.

Number of sites visited to address and identify

safety issues

Number of sites visited and referrals to the DOT

Number of inspections to monitor construction

projects

Number of crash reductions

Number of traffic safety devices installed

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Paid Media

Ensure that the Target Market adopts the

road safety message.

Increase recognition of the PRTSC

educational message.

Obtain an effective positive change in

attitudes toward traffic safety.

Increased Earned Media coverage.

Amount of Paid Media time

Amount of Earned Media time

Surveys

Motorcycle

Safety

To reduce motorcycle fatalities by a 7% from

45 in 2012 to 42 in 2014.

Number of motorcycle fatalities

Number of instructor examiners trained

Number of military trained under MSF

curriculum

Number of campaigns materials developed and

distributed

Number of motorcyclist trained in “First There,

First Care”

Distracted

Driving

To decrease the percentage of people that

reported making cell phone calls while

driving from 64% in 2013 to 54% in 2014.

To establish a Corporate Outreach Program

in 40 State agencies and municipalities to

address distracted driving and to promote

and enforce policies regarding distracted

driving during 2014.

To educate the public through mass media

efforts about the dangers of texting or using

a cell phone while driving.

To coordinate one national law enforcement

mobilization targeting distracted drivers.

Number of agencies and municipalities visited

and oriented as part of the Corporate Outreach

Program

Number of distracted driving tickets

Number of educational and orientation

activities conducted

Media exposure

Distracted driving survey

For each of the programs above, the HSP for 2014 includes a program overview presenting the statistics and a series of

strategies/projects to execute in order to reach the program goals.

2.3. Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)

Statewide and Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Programs (STIP and TIPs), developed by the States and

MPOs, are capital programming documents. These programs are resource constrained and identify projects and

funding that reflect society’s mobility, operational and safety needs. Currently, the PR STIP includes safety projects.

Below, there is a list of the most relevant safety projects for Puerto Rico after a review of the STIP for Fiscal Year 2014.

It should be noted that the STIP is a living document and the PRHTA is continuously updating this planning tool based

on project execution and availability of funds.

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AC Code Federal Code Description Municipality Funding

990110 MP30

Islandwide Roadside, Pavement

Marking, Signing, and Geometric

Safety Improvements Projects

(23CFR924) – 2012/13

Islandwide $12,961,811.33

990113 MP30 Upgrade of Roadside Barriers on

NHS/ (NCHRP-350 Stand) 2013 Islandwide $18,631,087.00

018193 MP-181(21) RFP for Pedestrian Bridge PR-181,

Los Prados San Juan $105,598.46

000214 MP40 Consultant Services for Developing

PR SHSP Islandwide $75,196.00

000214 MP50 Consultant Services for Developing

PR SHSP Islandwide $3,149,804.00

The table below shows a breakdown of the Islandwide Roadside, Pavement Marking, Signing and Geometric Safety

Improvements projects.


100082 MP-10(71)

Geometric and Safety

Improvements of PR-10 from

km 33.7 to km 70.1

Utuado and

Arecibo $2,445,805.00

200279 MP-2(63)

Geometric and Safety


km 52 to km 66

Manatí,

Barceloneta

and Arecibo

$1,218,406.32

000204 9999(203) Safe Routes to School Project #1

San Sebastian,

Las Marías,

and Maricao

$200,000.00

000205 9999(204) Safe Routes to School Project #2 Lares and

Adjuntas $200,000.00


Villalba, Juana

Díaz, Coamo

and Santa

Isabel

$200,000.00

000207 9999(205) Safe Routes to School Project #4 Vieques and

Culebra $200,000.00


Ciales,

Manatí, Vega

Baja, Vega

Alta and

Dorado

$200,000.00

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301127 MP-3(41) Geometric Improvements for

Hospital Access of PR-3 Carolina $2,000,000.00

005380 MP-53(9) Geometric & Safety Improvements

to Humacao Toll Plaza Humacao $287,742.00

301131 MP-3(45)

Highway Safety Improvements

including shore bank stabilization,

protection and pavement rehab at

PR-3, km 68.4 to 70.0

Naguabo,

Humacao $148,285.91

030809 MP-308(1) Safety Improvements to PR-308 Cabo Rojo $3,300,000.00

085318 MP-853(3) Safety Improvements to PR-853

from km 0.0 to km 13.7 Carolina $2,561,572.10

The table below depicts the breakdown of projects related to NCHRP 350 upgrade


520119 MP-52(34) Safety Improvements of PR-52 at

km 15 to km 32 Various $2,131,087.00

026123 MP-26(25)

Geometrical and Safety


PR-1 to PR-66 (15 kms)

San Juan,

Carolina $12,500,000.00

990101 MP-9999(116) Installation of Crash Cushions and

Traffic Impact Attenuators Various $4,000,000.00

Considering only the funding available for safety initiatives, the PRTHA has programmed an investment of $34.9 Million

for the current Fiscal Year, meeting the requirement of MAP-21, in which 25% of the Federal funds available to PR shall

be allocated for activities eligible under the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP).

2.4. Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan from the Public Service Commission

The Puerto Rico Public Service Commission (PRPSC) is the local agency in charge of regulating commercial vehicle

transportation services and to improve Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) safety. The PRPSC prepared a Safety Action

Plan, as part of the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) and in accordance with the FMCSA regulations.

The mission of the PRPSC is to reduce accidents involving CMV in Puerto Rico and the goal is to reduce the Fatality Rate

involving CMV to 0.114 per 100 million total miles traveled.

The PRPSC recognizes the importance of all collaborative efforts from other agencies within the government of Puerto

Rico, specifically:

9-1-1 Services

PR Police Department

PR Department of Transportation and Public Works

PR Highway and Transportation Authority

PR Ports Authority

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PR Traffic Safety Commission

Traffic Records Coordinating Committee

PR Environmental Quality Board

By using the Safetynet 2013 crash data, the PRPSC identified three (3) corridors of secondary roads and one primary

roadway corridor with high crash incidents, as depicted below.

Corridor Classification High Crash Incident Roads

Primary Roads PR-22

Secondary Roads

PR-137

PR-149

PR-142

According to the Safety Action Plan, 54% of the crashes along those corridors resulted in injuries and 27% were fatal.

The goal is to decrease the fatality rate, from 0.03 per 100 million total vehicle miles traveled to 0.00 per 100 million

total vehicle miles traveled in accordance to FMCSA guidelines. The crash reduction goal is one of six (6)

areas/components of the PR CMV Safety Plan. The following table presents the six (6) areas/components and the

related strategies/actions.

PR CMV Safety Program

Component Strategies/Actions

Crash Reduction Goal

Inspection activities at PR-22, PR-137, PR-149 and PR-142 at least four (4)

times a month at two different shifts, from 6:00 am to 2:30 pm and from

11:00 am to 7:30 pm.

Coordinate traffic enforcement strike forces in coordination with the PR

Police Department at least four (4) times a month with one MCSAP

inspector per shift.

Passenger

Transportation Safety

To provide MCSAP inspector with necessary training and certifications

To provide MCSAP inspector with the special equipment needed

To coordinate with the PR Department of Tourism and other agencies for

commercial transportation of passengers to achieve uniformity and

compliance

To conduct educational outreach with the motorcoach vehicle operators

in order to get compliance with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation

To identify motorcoach origin and destination and the highway corridor

most commonly used.

To coordinate with Federal, State and local agencies to facilitate the

access of MCSAP inspectors to origin and destination sites

Conduct North American Standard Level I, II, II, and IV inspections to the

passenger vehicle on the destination sites

Conduct North American Standard Level I, II, III, and IV inspections to

passenger vehicles on motor carrier facilities

To increase the presence of the MCSAP inspectors on the highways

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Use of strike forces on special occasions where an uncommonly large

number of motorcoaches is expected.

Hazardous Materials

Transportation Safety

Coordination at Federal level with the Pipeline Hazardous Material Safety

Administration (PHMSA) and FMCSA as well as with the LPG Office of the

PSC to reduce violations in the Hazardous Materials Transportation

Safety, especially for LPG cylinder requirements of 49 CFR Part 178

To reduce the number of Shipping Paper and Placard violations by 10%

over the next two years.

Driver/Vehicle

Inspections

Level III inspections to constitute 33% of all inspections. This strategy will

be combined with traffic enforcement.

Increase the total level of inspections by 5% from previous fiscal year

Increase staff hours to be dedicated to conduct roadside inspections of

passenger carrier at recreational areas

To continuously address vehicle overweight and over dimension safety

violations together with the PRDTPW

To develop awareness of driver by distribution of brochures

Traffic Enforcement

To establish a base line of inspector hours allocated to traffic

enforcement activities

To have inspectors equipped with radar guns and videotaping equipment

to facilitate the traffic enforcement activity without abandoning

interagency traffic enforcement activities

Carrier Interventions To coordinate Compliance Review training for the PRPSC inspectors.

2.5. Long Range Transportation Plan (2040)

The 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) for Puerto Rico is a compendium of four (4) major LRTPs; two for the

Transportation Metropolitan Areas (TMAs) of San Juan and Aguadilla, one for the 5 Urbanized Areas (UZAs) and one

Islandwide considering rural areas. The LRTPs were approved in December 2013 by the Metropolitan Planning

Organization (MPO). For the purpose of this evaluation, we will be focusing on an assessment of the elements used in

the LRTPs to prioritize the project inclusion, the sources of funding and the coordination done with other

transportation plans; all within the vision of safety as one of the top priorities.

In general, all LRTPs include the same vision, as depicted below:

“The Islandwide transportation system will offer safe (emphasis provided), efficient and effective

accessibility and mobility for all its citizens and businesses and for the movement of people and goods,

promoting livable communities and urban spaces with energy efficiency and sustainable economic

development.”

In terms of the goals and objectives of the LRTPs, the documents make reference to safety (under the category for

efficiency) in terms of:

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Goal: “Improve Transportation System Performance - Maintain and operate Puerto Rico's

transportation facilities and services proactively for better economy and efficiency, leveraging

available capacity, with adequate safety and security.”

Objective: “Improve transportation system safety and security, and ability to support emergencies”

The documents provide additional description of the objectives in terms of support for emergencies, making reference

to hurricane evacuation, flooding and major system blockage incidents.

For the financial background, the LRTP made reference to the FHWA funds, but does not provide a breakdown of the

restricted uses per MAP-21.

The forecast of PRHTA revenue used from 2013 to 2040 includes $995,521,000 for safety projects. The LRTP for PR

Islandwide also indicates that 20% of the PRHTA construction and highway program funds are used for safety projects.

In terms of the safety coordination efforts, the LRTP highlighted the important role of the PRHTA in defining

engineering safety improvement projects as well as the collaboration efforts with the PRTSC and the PR Police

Department. However, it does not include the Emergency Medical Services as a key factor, probably due to the lack of

active participation by EMS organizations within the last several years.

The following key strategies are proposed in the LRTP to improve safety:

Continue through the partnership with the Puerto Rico Traffic Safety Commission to advance the work of

traffic safety across the island, which has shown commendable results through a well-conceived and multi-

pronged approach. Work to bring crash record reporting current to provide timely data for priority analysis

and performance.

Coordinate with the public transit corporations and services to conform to new MAP-21 requirements relating

to safety plan and reporting requirements.

Through a commitment of heightened funding for safety improvements, develop a targeted approach to

identifying and defining safety improvements for maximum positive impact.

Improve coordination with the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Office on the use and management of the

highway system for special incident and natural disaster event emergency preparedness and response (for

floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, hazardous material incidents, terrorism, etc). Coordinate with the Federal

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on hurricane-scenario analysis,

and revisit storm-surge mapping as it relates to transportation infrastructure risk and response and also as

related to the climate change sea level rise analysis.

Update hazardous cargo roadway incident response procedures with involved agencies and police authorities.

Review prior incident records to identify any patterns of repeat incidents to address contributing factors.

Review the status of the system response plan with U.S. Department of Homeland Security guidance.

Explore implementation of a Road Ranger program on major expressways in urban areas to assist with disabled

motorists, road debris, and other minor incidents. These agents can also report other roadway condition risks,

accidents, and erratic or risk-causing vehicle activity. In some instances these services may be partially or fully

sponsored by private business such as insurance companies.

Expand security coordination with the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Office to better integrate

evacuation protocols and also coordinate with ITS development and deployment activities.

Again, it can be observed that the LRTP makes reference to coordination with Emergency Management Office, but not

with the Emergency Medical Services component in terms of saving more lives.

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Finally, Chapter 8 of the LRTP for PR Islandwide presents performance measures for each of the goals and the

performance elements (previously presented for safety). For Safety and Security, the LRTP recommends monitoring

the Traffic Fatality Rate and not the serious injuries, probably due to the lack of this information at the time the LRTP

was written.

2.6. Findings and Recommendations

The reviewed plans change in format, and content as expected due to the differences in requirements. However; it is

worth mentioning, before entering into a content discussion, the largest and most significant differences in terms of

formatting/requirements are shown in the next table.

Plan / Element Interim SHSP HSP LRTP PSC Safety Plan

Supporting

Statistics FARS FARS/Surveys

Transportation

Models/

Public Hearings/

MPO Input

Safetynet 2013

Goals Defined Yes Yes No Partially

Goals supported

by trends

evaluation

No Yes N/A No

Performance

Measures Yes Yes No Yes

Strategies Yes Yes Yes Yes

Period (years) for

Reaching Goals 5 2 N/A Various

Based on our review of the plans, the following table presents a summary of the most significant goals (or main

objectives).

Emphasis Area /

Goals Interim SHSP HSP

LRTP (Only Strategies /

Goals not Required) PSC Safety Plan

Traffic Record &

Info Systems

Improve crash

database by 2016

Improve crash database

by 2014

Bring crash data current to

provide timely data for

analysis and performance.

Roadway

Departure

5% decrease in

fatalities by 2016

Increase in: road

inspections, highway

safety education, and

replacement and upgrade

of traffic control devices

Develop a targeted

approach for identifying

and defining safety

improvements for

maximum positive impact.

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Emphasis Area /




Pedestrian and

Cyclists

5% decrease in

fatalities by 2016

Pedestrian – 13.6%

reduction in 5Y rolling

average from 2012 to

2014

Cyclists – Reduction in 5Y

rolling average from 12.4

in 2012 to 12.0 in 2014

Driver Behavior 10% decrease in fatalities by 2016

Alcohol related fatalities -

5% reduction from 2011

to 2014

To establish a base line of

inspector hours allocated

to traffic enforcement

activities

Youth alcohol related

fatalities – 20% reduction

from 2011 to 2014

Speeding related fatalities

– 5% reduction from 2013

to 2014

Distracted Driving

A reduction from 64% to

54% in use of Cell phone

calls (per survey results)

Motorcycle 7% reduction in fatalities

from 2012 to 2014

Planning &

Administration

Ongoing efforts for

Implementing/maintaining

policies and procedures

Occupant

Protection

Unrestrained related

fatalities – 5% reduction

from 2012 to 2014

Community

Programs

Traffic fatality reduction

from 366 in 2012 to 350 in

2014

Paid Media

Increase recognition of

the PRTSC educational

message, positive change

in attitudes toward traffic

safety

CMV Crash

Reduction

Update hazardous cargo

roadway incident

response procedures.

Review prior incident

Reduction fatality rate

from 0.03 per 100 million

TVM to 0.00 per 100

million TVM

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Emphasis Area /




Hazardous

Materials

Transportation

Safety

records to identify

contributing factors

Lowering the number of

shipping paper and

placard violations by 10%

over the next 2 years

Passenger

Transportation

Safety

Coordinate with the public

transit corporations and

services to conform to

new MAP-21

requirements relating to

safety plan and reporting

requirements

Several strategies

included. Not goal was

specified

Driver/Vehicle

Inspections

Increase all inspections

by 5% from previous FY

Level III inspection to

reach 33% of all

inspections

Carrier

Interventions

Establish state policies

and procedures to

conduct Compliance

Reviews

Road Ranger

Program

Remove disable vehicles,

debris and clear incidents

In general, the following findings/recommendations are presented:

The STIP for FY 2013-14 presents a series of Safety Improvement projects meeting the requirements of MAP-

21 to allocate 25% of the PR funds from FHWA for safety related projects.

Based on interviews with PRHTA personnel, the safety engineers from the PRHTA assign priorities based on

safety assessments of hot corridors, site visits and using the crash database. Determining severity indices, and

by performing RSAs, together with an incremental Benefit Cost Analysis (BCA) would enhance the PRHTA’s

ability to make more efficient and effective decisions in the process of selecting safety projects.

The use of the Critical Analysis Reporting Environment (CARE) system will facilitate/ease the process of

identifying hot corridors/spots. The recent launch of the CARE system and crash data analysis improvements is

still an ongoing process.

There are opportunities to refine the severity classification process by using the KABCO injury scale and by

improving the location of the crashes in the database.

The HSP from the PRTSC presents an assessment of the base conditions, establishes the goals and strategies to

reach those goals and the metrics to measure the success of the program. It includes data from the ACAA to

evaluate the characteristics of serious injury crashes, based on the definition that a serious injury crash

involves the mobilization of the person(s) injured by ambulance. The plan presents limitations in the crash

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data, as most of the analyses consider FARS data, and the serious injuries data do not include the PAR number.

However, it is well complemented through the use of stakeholders' surveys.

Most of the goals established in the PRTSC consider 2014 as the achievable year.

The Interim SHSP considers a 5 year prediction in performance.

Close coordination with the PRTSC shall be maintained within the first tasks of the SHSP project, currently the

PRTSC and the PRHTA are developing Emphasis Areas and strategies for the HSP and the SHSP and both shall

be in agreement.

The LRTP seems well coordinated and in agreement with the MAP-21 requirements. However, there is an

opportunity to improve it by maximizing the crash data analysis and integrating EMS as another critical

element to consider in lowering the fatality and serious injury rates in Puerto Rico.

There is consensus in all plans for addressing driver behavior for achieving a reduction in fatalities and serious

injuries.

With the exception of the PR CMV Safety Plan, the plans include improvements to the crash database as part

of the Emphasis Areas/strategies.

The PR CMV Safety Plan presents several objectives/strategies. However, no specific metrics or goals are

included for Carrier Interventions and Passenger Transportation Safety.

The PR CMV Safety Plan recognizes that driver behavior is the main element accountable for crashes.

However, it recognizes the limitation on MCSAP Inspectors, as they are not able to write citations and fines for

drug and alcohol use while driving a vehicle. The Plan indicates that there is a bill in the PR Senate to amend

PR Law 22 to include PR PSC Inspectors in the Law Enforcement Officer definition. If this bill becomes a law, PR

PSC Inspectors will be able to conduct drug and alcohol field test and issue the appropriate citations.

The PR CMV Safety Plan emphasizes the importance of establishing State policies and procedures to conduct

Compliance Reviews for Hazardous Materials (HM) CMV, non-HM CMV and buses.

Both the HSP and the Interim SHSP recognize the importance of the EMS as one of the “Four Es” in reducing

fatalities and serious injuries. The LRTP and the PR CMV Safety Program do not incorporate EMS as part of the

plans.

3. Crash Databases

This section presents a detailed review of the databases that are available with the Puerto Rico Highway

Transportation Authority (PRHTA). The available crash databases, traffic citation database, and the Geographic

Information Systems (GIS) databases are discussed in detail. The limitations of the available data are then provided.

The chapter concludes with a discussion on potential improvements to the data gathering and management process.

The review includes the following crash databases:

Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS)

Critical Analysis Reporting Environment (CARE) Database and the PRHTA

Automobile Accident Compensation Administration (ACAA)

Traffic Citation Data

GIS Data

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3.1. Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS)

FARS is a nationwide census that provides yearly traffic crash data involving fatalities. The FARS database contains data

on fatal crashes for the years 1975 to 2012 for the 50 States in the U.S., District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. “To be

included in FARS, a crash must involve a motor vehicle traveling on a traffic way customarily open to the public, and

must result in the death of an occupant of a vehicle or a non-occupant within 30 days (720 hours) of the crash”

(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA, 2014). The FARS Analytical User’s Manual (2014) provides a

detailed discussion on the types of data variables available and the codes used in FARS.

For year 2012, FARS database, extract made available by the PRTSC, includes the following data variables for all fatal

crashes that occurred on public roads in PR:

Municipality

Hour, month, and day of crash

Roadway name and kilometer marker

Age

Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)

Classification: (bicyclist, pedestrian, driver, passenger, motorcyclist, trooper, other)

Gender

Seatbelt use

Alcohol-involvement

For years 2008 to 2011 PR FARS database, extract made available by the PRTSC, includes all the above identified data

variables for all fatal crashes except data on seatbelt use and alcohol-involvement.

3.2. PRHTA Crash Database and CARE System

The PR DTPW crash database is operated and managed by the Accident Analysis Office (AAO). The database consists of

all the data entered in crash reports, representing more than 230,000 data entered per year from 1997 to 2011, except

year 2001, with incomplete data for years 2010 and 2011. The limitations in the data gathering process of the AAO

resulted in a serious evaluation of data fields needed to perform on a yearly based crash analysis in Puerto Rico. After

this evaluation, performed with the help of the Traffic Engineering and Operational Area (PRHTA) and the PRTSC, the

AAO reduced the fields entered in the database and began to use only Fatal and Injury crashes (F+I) for their crash

analysis. In order to gather a tool for faster and deeper crash evaluations, the PRTSC has an agreement with the

University of Puerto Rico (Río Piedras campus). Through the execution of this agreement, the University contracted

the staff of the Center for Advanced Public Safety (CAPS) at the University of Alabama.

The Center for Advanced Public Safety, at The University of Alabama, is a research and development center dedicated

to the use of information technology to help improve society by performing crime, accidents, and other analyses that

impact people positively. CAPS has more than thirty years of experience in the traffic safety industry in the United

States. The following products from CAPS have received the support from local and national government agencies in

the USA:

eCite: Comprehensive electronic citation issuance and processing system

o Mobile Officer’s Virtual Environment (MOVE): enables officers to operate their computer systems from

anywhere on the highway

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eCrash: Electronic crash reporting and transmission procedure used with MOVE (gather and stores

information)

CARE: Data analysis software package used for problem identification and countermeasure development in

traffic safety and others applications (criminal justice, emergency management, questionnaires, etc.)

The Critical Analysis Reporting Environment (CARE) is being used to provide to the decision-makers a practical report

on crash analysis. This is because it is a crash data analysis software system that has an easy-to-use interface which

turns data into information. This software has the following capabilities (CARE, 2014):

Statistical Generation

Data Analysis

Information Mining Capability

Analysis of Non-categorical Variables

Narrative Data Searching (subject to data availability)

Hotspot Determination

Report Generation

Collision Diagram Generation (subject to data availability)

GIS Integration (subject to data availability)

Traditionally, agencies often maintain crash databases in the following three different tables: crash, vehicle, and

person. The crash table includes all the attributes of the crash such as crash type, severity, roadway condition, weather

condition, etc. The vehicle table includes specific details about the vehicles involved in the crash such as the vehicle

type, make and model of the vehicle, etc. Finally, the person table includes details on all the road users involved in the

crash and includes person-level information such as age, gender, seating position, etc. For example, a crash involving

two vehicles with three occupants in the two vehicles will have one record in the crash table, two records in the

vehicle table, and three records in the person table. Note that all these tables could be linked through a unique ID, the

crash number or the PAR number.

For PR data, the DTPW and the CAPS personnel worked together to develop a crash database that integrates data from

a group of the 108 tables of the database. In other words, the CARE database does not include separate tables for the

crashes, vehicles, and occupants; all the important information is compiled into one table. Note that each record in this

table corresponds to one crash. The future crash data entry improvements could include providing the complete

relational database with the crash, vehicle, and person tables.

CARE version 10.0.0.22 has Puerto Rico crash data for years 2002 through 2009, and for year 2012. The database

includes all crashes (i.e., fatal, injury, and property damage only (PDO) crashes) for the years 2002 to 2006 and only

fatal and injury (F+I) crashes for the years 2007 to 2009 and 2012. More specifically, the following data variables and

their attributes are included in CARE database:

Year (2002-2009, 2012)

Month

Day of month

Day of the week

Week of the year

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Time of day

Date

Related event (most harmful)

Overturn Two vehicles Mailbox

Fire/explosion Three or more vehicles Traffic sign

Submerged Pedestrian hit and run Back-slope

Gas inhalation Hit and run Bridge

Spilled load Stationary vehicle Building

Leakage/spilling Cyclist Fence

Irregular road surface Cyclist hit and run Other fixed object

Fell off cliff Motorcyclist Pothole

Collapsed road/bridge Motorcyclist with fixed

object Agricultural equipment

Jackknifed Animal barrier Construction equipment

Motorcycle overturned Safety drums Storm drain

Fallen person Utility poles Other with collision

Other event without

collision Trees

Pedestrian Fire hydrant

Collision type

Entering intersection at an angle A parked vehicle

In the same direction – posterior A vehicle stopped on pavement

In the same direction – turning A vehicle parking or reversing

In the same direction – side A vehicle exiting a parking space

In the opposite direction – front A vehicle entering a private entrance

In the opposite direction – turning A vehicle exiting a private entrance

In the opposite direction – side Not available

Contributing circumstances

Left crash scene Vision obstructed Vehicle to the left

Under the influence of

alcohol Driver lost control Failure to obey signal

Failure to yield Mechanical defect Over-extended load

Disregarded traffic control Roadway defect Street racing

Exceeded speed limit Driver too slow Pedestrian violation

Avoid object/person Overloaded Weight/height/width of

vehicle

Improper turn Climate/weather Failure to dim

Following too closely Inappropriate trailer hitch Load fell off

Improper lane change Driver condition Didn’t see person/object

Improper reverse Wrong way Defective traffic light

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Improper passing Vehicle pushing another

vehicle Other

Failure to signal Person pushing vehicle None

Number of vehicles involved

Number of pedestrians involved

Number of injured

Number of fatalities

Crash type

Fatal

Injury

PDO

Road surface condition

Dry

Wet

Muddy

Other

Roadway characteristics

Straight-level Curve-downhill

Straight-downhill Curve-uphill

Straight-uphill Curve-hill top

Straight-hill top Other

Curve-level Unknown

Traffic control

Police/work zone flagger Yield sign

Pedestrian control No passing zone

Traffic light Other

Flashing traffic light Unknown

Stop sign

Lighting condition

Daytime Dark with lighting

Sunrise Dark without lighting

Sunset Unknown

Weather condition

Foggy Cloudy

Windy Rainy

Clear Other

Location type

Intersection of two state roads

Intersection of one state road and one municipal road

Intersection of two municipal roads

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State road with kilometer marker (non-intersection)

Road or street with section number (urban area)

Road or street without intersection, kilometer marker or section number

Unknown

Police precinct/district

Arecibo Highway Dorado District Patillas District West Bayamón Precinct

Bayamon Highway Fajardo District Peñuelas District South Bayamón Precinct

Caguas Highway Florida District Ponce District Bo. Obrero Precinct

Fajardo Highway Guánica District Quebradillas District Loiza St. Precinct

Guayama Highway Guayama District Rincón District North Carolina Precinct

Ponce Highway Guayanilla District Rio Grande District West Carolina Precinct

San Juan Highway Guaynabo District Rio Piedras District South Carolina Precinct

Adjuntas District Gurabo District Sabana Grande District Castañer Precinct

Aguada District Hatillo District Salinas District Cedro Arriba Precinct

Aguadilla District Hormigueros District San Germán District Cupey Precinct

Aguas Buenas District Humacao District San Juan District El Tuque Precinct

Aibonito District Isabela District San Lorenzo District East Hato Rey Precinct

Añasco District Jayuya District San Sebastián District West Hato Rey Precinct

Arecibo District Juana Díaz District Santa Isabel District Juan Domingo Precinct

Arroyo District Juncos District Toa Alta District La Playa Precinct

Barceloneta District Lajas District Toa Baja District La Rambla Precinct

Barranquitas District Lares District Utuado District Mameyes Precinct

Cabo Rojo District Las Marías District Vega Alta District North Mayaguez Precinct

Caguas District Las Piedras District Vega Baja District South Mayaguez Precint

Camuy District Levittown District Vieques District Monte Hatillo Precint

Canóvanas District Loíza District Villalba District Morell Campos Precint

Cataño District Luquillo District Yabucoa District Parada 19 Precint

Cayey District Manatí District Yauco District Puerto Nuevo Precint

Ceiba District Maricao District Traffic Division Sabana Hoyos Precint

Ciales District Maunabo District Carolina Traffic Division

Station A

North Trujillo Alto Precint

Cidra District Mayagüez District Caimito Precint South Trujillo Alto Precint

Coamo District Moca District Airport Precint Touristic Zone Precint

Comerío District Morovis District Angeles Precint Traffic Sub-Div. Bayamon

Corozal District Naguabo District Highway Precint Aibonito Traffic Div.

Culebra District Naranjito District Ramey Base Precint

Dajaos District Orocovis District North Bayamón Precint

Municipality

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Adjuntas Cataño Hatillo Maunabo San Germán

Aguada Cayey Hato Rey Mayagüez San Juan

Aguadilla Ceiba Hormigueros Moca San Lorenzo

Aguas Buenas Ciales Humacao Morovis San Sebastián

Aibonito Cidra Isabela Naguabo Santa Isabel

Añasco Coamo Isla Verde Naranjito Santurce

Arecibo Comerío Jayuya Orocovis Toa Alta

Arroyo Corozal Juana Díaz Patillas Toa Baja

Barceloneta Culebra Juncos Peñuelas Trujillo Alto

Barranquitas Dorado Lajas Ponce Utuado

Bayamón Fajardo Lares Puerto Nuevo Vega Alta

Bo. Obrero Florida Las Marías Quebradillas Vega Baja

Cabo Rojo Guánica Las Piedras Rincón Vieques

Caguas Guayama Loiza Rio Grande Villalba

Camuy Guayanilla Luquillo Rio Piedras Yabucoa

Canóvanas Guaynabo Manatí Sabana Grande Yauco

Carolina Gurabo Maricao Salinas Unknown

Road class and jurisdiction

Primary state road (regional)

Secondary state road (inter municipal)

Tertiary state road (intra municipal)

Street (municipal road)

Unknown

Causing Unit (CU) driver gender

Male

Female

Unknown

CU driver age

CU driver authorized

Yes

No

Unknown

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CU driver condition

Normal Inebriated

Fatigued Under the influence of drugs

Drunk Other

Learner driver Unknown

CU vehicle type

Car Motorcycle

Small truck Bicycle

Pick-up Agricultural machine

Van Road equipment

Semi-tractor (cab) Trailer

Truck Mobile home

Bus Jeep

School bus Other

Crane

CU contributing circumstance

Left scene of the crash Vision obstructed Vehicle to the left

Under the influence of

alcohol Driver lost control Failure to obey signal

Failure to yield Mechanical defect Over-extended load

Disregard traffic

control Roadway defect Street racing

Exceeded speed limit Driver too slow Pedestrian violation

Avoid object/person Overloaded Weight/height/width of

vehicle

Improper turn Climate/weather Failure to dim

Following too closely Inappropriate trailer

hitch Load fell off

Improper lane change Driver condition Didn’t see person/object

Improper reverse Wrong way Defective traffic light

Improper passing Vehicle pushing another

vehicle Other

Failure to signal Person pushing vehicle None

CU seatbelt use

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CU vehicle direction

o North o Southwest

o Northeast o West

o East o Northwest

o Southeast o Unknown

o South

Motorcycle involved

Bicycle involved

Passenger vehicle involved

Truck or van involved

Heavy vehicle involved

Young victims involved

Youth victims involved

Adult victims involved

Older victims involved

Elderly victims involved

Male victims involved

Female victims involved

Young drivers involved

Youth drivers involved

Adult drivers involved

Older drivers involved

Elderly drivers involved

Male drivers involved

Female drivers involved

Has Global Positioning System (GPS)

o Provided by officer

o Derived from route and kilometer (KM)

o Removed as invalid

o N/A

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3.3. Automobile Accident Compensation Administration (ACAA)

The Automobile Accident Compensation Administration (ACAA, in Spanish) is a social based governmental agency that

works as an insurance company. It compensates families affected by serious and fatal crashes to mitigate the

economic and social impact on their health or life loss. ACAA gathers data from police crash reports, from the

emergency management services provided to crash victims and from the Department of Transportation and Public

works (DTPW). The ACAA database includes personal data of all the victims of serious injury and fatal crashes and the

agency focuses on the demographic information of the victims. The following data variables are included within the

ACAA database:

Category: driver, passenger, pedestrian, without license

Date and hour of crash

Day of crash

Municipality

Gender

Age

This data contained in the ACAA database is too limited to use in conducting a detailed crash analysis. One

recommendation is to link the ACAA database to the crash database by means of the PAR number. If both databases

could be linked, data on crashes involving severe injuries could be analyzed. Another potential limitation with the

ACAA database is that the database also includes crashes involving fatalities. This is because a person seriously injured

at a crash site might have died later at the hospital. Since the database might not include all fatalities, the analysis of

fatal and serious injury crashes might require merging the fatal crash database and the ACAA database and removing

the duplicate records.

3.4. Traffic Citation Data

Current traffic citation data, provided by the Puerto Rico Police Department, includes years 2008 to 2012. The

database, which includes both the police areas and the division of highway patrol, provides statistics on total

accidents, traffic tickets, and other interventions. Total accidents, fatal accidents, and injury accidents are separately

identified in “Accidents” category. The following are identified in “Traffic Ticket” category:

Speed limit 55 MPH Unnecessary noise Heavy vehicles/trucks

Speeding in school zones Vehicle inspection Waste management law

Other speed-related Window tinting People with disability law

Safety belt Traffic lights Parking tickets

Car seats (children) Stop sign Other tickets

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Similarly, the “Other Interventions” category includes the following:

Driving under the influence (DUI)

with BAC ≥ 0.08%

Street peddlers

Interventions with minors (no adults)

DUI with BAC < 0.08% Non-authorized driver

Blood test Other interventions

Negatives Orientations

Total DUI records Aid or help given

Intervention with Pedestrians

Law 201-2011, enacted on January 1, 2013 prohibits the use of handheld cell phones while driving. The data related to

fees imposed for driving while using a cell phone for year 2013 and part of year 2014 (January to March 2014) was

provided by the Police Department. The data indicates that 42,203 and 10,006 tickets were issued on 2013 and 2014

respectively. The data available for cell phone usage while driving included only the total tickets written by the police

per year. For a more specific analysis of the cell phone use while driving, the following data shall be included as part of

the citation data report:

Distribution of the tickets: regions, municipalities, road numbers

Time of the day

Day of the week

Driver's Age

Driver's condition

Driver's gender

The limitations on the use of the citation data for in-depth behavior analysis are:

The data is not collected and stored electronically: There is no database available on citations data

The data is limited to the number of issued tickets: There is no other data field related to the citation, as

mentioned above.

The data is not associated to any crash data: The data is limited to non-crash events and there is a lack of

information on crash reports associated to distracted drivers and/or the use of cell-phones.

Future data associated with crashes and cell-phone usage is expected because Law 201-2011 requires that police

officers collect that information on crash scenes.

Other citation data related to driver's license revocation due to drunk driving is going to be evaluated. The Directory of Drivers Services (DISCO in Spanish) has the responsibilities of drivers' license examination, point system management, and revocation, among others. Once the data of drivers' license revocation due to drunk drivers is gathered, a comparison with crash trends related to alcohol is going to be performed.

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3.5. GIS Data

In Puerto Rico, the use of GIS files is being limited to map generation and other purposes not related to identify crash

locations for analysis. The following GIS shape files are available from the PRHTA:

HPMS_2014_LOGS_2012 - The HPMS Log information (by sections and state road KM)

GIS Base Map with dynamic segmentation of state road kilometers

ACT_CARRETERAS_ESTATALES_OCT_2013

ACT_CARRETERAS_NHS_2014 - ACT NHS

ACT_INTERSTATE_SYSTEM_ 2013 - ACT Interstate System

ACT_STRAHNET_SYSTEM_2013

ACT_CARRETERAS_SEGMENTADAS_KM_2013

It is to be noted that the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) log data (i.e., the GIS base map) is available

and complete only for the state roads in PR.


3.6.1. Data Limitation

The PR DTPW, together with the PRHTA and the PRTSC, have access to police crash reports used to fill their database in

the AAO. In addition, PR DTPW has access to FARS database, police citations reports, a limited database from ACAA for

serious injuries and fatalities, and GIS highway maps. Regardless, there are several limitations associated with the

databases that are currently available.

One of the major issues with the current crash databases is missing or incomplete location information. For the 2002

to 2006 data, only approximately 40% of crashes (depending on crash type and police reporting unit) are being located

because only state roads have kilometer markers. For the most recent data (i.e., for 2007-2009 and 2012), this

percentage is 60% for non-state roads and 80% for state roads. Non-state roads, except at urban locations, have not

yet been installed with kilometer markers. Furthermore, the kilometer markers on the state roads are not 100%

accurate, as two or more state roads might have the same roadway name (or ID) and kilometer markers, thus

questioning the validity of the crash locations.

The crash location data shall improve after the projects initiated by the PRHTA (see Statewide Transportation

Improvement Program -STIP in Chapter 2) to install new kilometer posts for state roads are completed. Furthermore,

the intersection data for state roads is expected to improve, based on the GIS data being collected as part of these

projects. The GIS data also includes some roadway characteristics data identified in the Model Inventory of Roadway

Elements (MIRE) database. However, since these projects are for state roads alone, the crash locations of non-state

roads cannot be improved unless the non-state roads are provided with kilometer markers.

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3.6.2. Opportunities for Improvement

Injury Severity Classification

Although the police reports record injury severity as fatal, major injury, or minor injury, the data are not being coded in

the crash summary records. It would definitely be beneficial to include the following detailed classification for injury

severity.

K – Fatal Injury

A – Incapacitating Injury

B – Non-Incapacitating Injury

C – Possible Injury

O – Property Damage Only

Improve Existing Police Reports

One of the main opportunities that the Police Department has for enhancement would be to digitize and store the

police crash reports. The scanned copies of the police reports will vastly improve data collection management, data

entry process, and lead times from the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPO) to PRDTPW. This improved method of

data collection and storage would be beneficial in performing RSAs, conducting site-specific safety analyses and for law

enforcement officers in targeting specific crash patterns and high crash locations. The Puerto Rican Traffic Records

Coordinating Committee (TRCC) is working together with the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) to achieve these

goals.

Improve Crash Locations

As previously discussed, the crash location information is currently either inaccurate or incomplete. Installing both

state roads and non-state roads with kilometer markers would be the first step toward obtaining accurate crash

locations. Another approach to accurately obtain crash locations would be to use GPS to record the coordinates (i.e.,

latitude and longitude) of the crash site. The PR DTPW and the PRHTA can work in coordination with municipalities to

install kilometer posts along the entire highway system (state roads and non-state roads) and to integrate kilometer

information on the existing GIS maps. In addition, the PRPD could obtain GPS tools (i.e. official cell phones, camera

systems, tablets) to gather GPS information at crash and crime scenes for the analysis of these locations.

Collect and Maintain Roadway Characteristics Information

Besides accurate and complete crash data, the safety analysis requires detailed information on roadway

characteristics. For example, in addition to the facility type, information on the number of lanes; lane width; presence,

width, and type of shoulders; presence and width of median, etc. are required for roadway segments. Similarly, for

intersections, number of intersection legs; traffic control type; number of left-turn lanes, through lanes, and right-turn

lanes at each approach leg, etc. are required to analyze intersections. Lack of this information significantly hinders a

majority of the safety analysis procedures, including network screening and project prioritization.

The GIS Office of the PRHTA visits state road projects gathering some of the information on roadway characteristics for

use by the Highway System Office. However, the PRHTA must develop an Asset Management Plan according to MAP-

21 using the recommended roadway and traffic elements listed on MIRE (Model Inventory of Roadway Elements).

Consequently, the FHWA's Guidance Memorandum on Fundamental Data Elements (FDEs) to Improve the Highway

Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) has to be implemented in the Traffic Bureau in order to collect the minimum data

required for each road.

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Collect and Maintain Traffic Data

Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) is the most important variable to conduct safety analyses. For example, crash rate,

the most common measure to evaluate safety at a location requires normalizing crash frequency (i.e., number of

crashes that occurred at the location) by the amount of traffic that passes through that location (i.e., number of

vehicles). This information is not available for the entire roadway network. Therefore, efforts to collect and maintain

yearly AADT data would be beneficial to the PRDTPW. As part of the Asset Management Plan (MAP-21, MIRE)

mentioned previously for the PRHTA, it shall include a continuous traffic monitoring system for the entire highway

system. To accomplish that goal, the use of ITS technologies for traffic data collection and management is needed.

4. Behavioral Surveys

Other sources of information available are the results of behavioral surveys. This chapter discusses the following two

behavioral studies that were conducted in Puerto Rico:

Campaign effectiveness study of the driving under the influence of alcohol pre-campaign vs. post-campaign

report (TMCQ, 2013a)

2013 Puerto Rico observational seatbelt use survey (TMCQ, 2013b)

4.1. DUI Survey

The PRTSC contracted with the firm TMC Qualitative (TMCQ) to measure the effectiveness of media campaigns

designed to create an awareness of the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol. The media campaigns

were launched in July 2013; the pre-campaign study was conducted in early July 2013, and the post-campaign study

was conducted in August and September, 2013. Based on 500 person-to-person interviews that were conducted both

pre- and post-campaigns, the study concluded that the campaigns were successful in spreading the message on DUI.

Approximately 30% of the sample was found to have admitted to having driven while intoxicated. The authors,

therefore, concluded that the government should continue to educate the general public, particularly males and

younger drivers.

4.2. Use of Seatbelt Survey

The TMC Qualitative (TMCQ) conducted the observational seatbelt use study in 2013 for PR (TMCQ, 2013b). The

objective of this study was to estimate the seat belt use in PR at a specific point in time. The study was conducted from

December 5th through 13th, 2013. The analysis subsequently performed was based on a total of 6,800 vehicle

observations (constituting a total of 8,995 occupants, of which 6,800 were drivers and the remaining 2,195 occupants

were passengers in the front seat) across 17 counties in PR. The study determined that the overall belt use by the

occupants was 89.7%, with a standard error of 2.2%. The following are the key conclusions of this study:

The seat belt use on expressways or limited-access highways was highest at 90.9%, followed by arterials at

90.5%, while the seat belt use on local roads was relatively lower, at 82.6%.

A high 90.3% of drivers wore seat belts, while 86.7% of front seat passengers wore seat belts.

A high 92.3% of females wore seat belts, compared to 88.3% of males.

The younger age group (16-40 yrs) had the lowest rate of seat belt use (86.5%), followed by middle-aged

occupants (40-60 yrs) at 91.3%, and finally the older age group (over 60 yrs) at 95.9%.

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Behavioral studies help to understand the way people change for a specific behavior. The two studies performed

recently in Puerto Rico, seatbelt use and drunk drivers had shown the influence that targeted law enforcement and

educational campaigns had in positively changing road users' behavior. The impact of previous educational campaigns

on seatbelt use had resulted in an 89.7%, seatbelt usage, the highest in the nation. In addition, people who

participated in the DUI alcohol survey recommended educational campaigns to impact males and younger drivers,

among the general public.

5. Data Gathering Tools

The need to acquire a sufficient quantity of accurate data is a fundamental requirement for performing any type of

research. In terms of traffic crash analysis, the information gathered at the crash scene has to be very specific and

comprehensive in order to fully understand the circumstances associated with the event and subsequently, to

determine what engineering countermeasures may be needed to reduce the potential for related crash patterns in the

future. This chapter summarizes the data gathering process for crash analysis purposes in the government of Puerto

Rico. It includes a description of the police reports used on the Island, the process of entering crash data in the

PRDTPW, a summary of findings and recommendations to update the process and tools, and opportunities to

automate and/or improve the process.

5.1. Police Report

The PRPD uses Forms PPR-93 and PPR-94 for obtaining on-scene crash data. These forms include information for all

the people and vehicles involved in the crash, crash description, crash location, and other related data. In 2012, a new

version of the crash report form was developed; however, it has not yet been instituted. The revised form includes

332 fields for fatal and injury crashes and 106 fields for property damage crashes. The TRCC efforts include the

digitalization of the new PPR-93 which integrates old PPR-94 and PPR-94 and shall be filled out using tablets or laptop

computers.

5.1.1. Format

The prevailing PD crash report (PPR-93 and PPR-94, ver. 01/88) format is organized into four main sections:

Crash Location

Vehicle’s Information

Injured or Deaths Information

Crash Description (Narrative/Drawing)

The Information of Crash Location Section includes the following fields (1 thru 14):

Date (day-month-year) Federal Highway Classification

Time Collision Type

Day of the Week Qty. Vehicles

Municipality Qty. Pedestrians

Related Event to Collision Qty. Injured

Location Qty. Fatalities

Location Code Accident Type

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The Section of Vehicles’ Information is divided in two identical sub-sections. Fields 15 to 62 refer to Vehicle 1 and

fields 63 to 112 refer to Vehicle 2. The fields include the following data:

Drivers’ information: name, age, gender, phone num., occupation, address, years driving, authorized, insured,

license status, license num., license type, Soc. Sec. num., condition, blood analysis, alcohol level, resident 25

miles

Vehicle’s information: year, brand, model, plaque, state, inspection, owner’s name, owner’s address, vehicle

type, use, hazardous cargo, puller, mechanical defects, affected area

Other information: speed limit, estimated speed, safety belts, vehicle in motion, contributing circumstances,

driver’s maneuver, pedestrian, bicyclist, location code

The “Injured and/or Deaths” information includes spaces for up to five persons’ data. The data includes: name,

vehicle, age, gender, injured, lesion type, expulsion, first aid by, address, emergency transportation data, and safety

equipment.

The last sheet contains the Crash Description. In this section, the police officer writes down all of the details that

he/she considers to be important for describing the crash scene. The report also includes a crash diagram for the

officer to draw the position of vehicles as observed at the scene. Finally, the officers have to sign the form and include

the investigating officer’s plaque ID and date.

5.2. Data Entry Process

5.2.1. Selection of Applicable Crashes

The Accidents Analysis Office (AAO) receives all crash reports from the Police Department by year. The reports are

organized by AAO personnel into four categories: Fatal, Injury, Property Damage and Not Applicable. The Not

Applicable reports are those crashes related to criminal activities and other injuries or fatalities which occurred that

are not related to traffic crashes.

5.2.2. Zoning (Location by Maps or Kilometers)

Identification of the approximate location of crashes, or zoning, is important to accurately analyze crashes and/or

crash patterns. After organizing the reports, the fatal and injury crashes are selected for the zoning process.

The zoning process is strictly manual, using the maps labeled in the office and other tourist maps of the Island because

they are more up to date. These maps (AAO's maps) have labels for road number, kilometer, intersections, section

numbers, and roadway classification (primary, secondary, and tertiary). The data entry personnel have to interpret the

police narrative in order to locate the crash on the AAO's maps. These maps include legends for important

infrastructure references such as:

Churches Jails

Schools Central Business Districts

Police Stations Post Offices

Hospitals Fire Engine Houses

Cemeteries Pedestrian Bridges

Industrial Plants Others

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The section numbers are used when there is a reference location and there isn't a specified kilometer. For grade

separated intersections, the personnel have to find the kilometers where the roads intersect and assign that kilometer

to the road where the accident occurred. If there isn't enough information to establish on which road the crash

occurred, the person in charge assumes that it occurred on the ramp and uses the corresponding section number

because most ramp locations can be identified using the ramp section number. After completing the zoning process

the reports have to be codified.

5.2.3. Codification

Codification of police crash reports is a process utilized to convert the police data to a more accurate and manageable

data format. It starts by adding all the necessary digits required for the data entry process. For example, adding 9999

where the police didn't provide kilometer information means that there is no data. In addition, a code for the traffic

direction of each vehicle is added. The codification personnel check the consistency of the report and make changes

when they find a possible mistake or inconsistency in the data. The inconsistencies can occur in many fields such as:

town code versus the town written by the police, code for collision type versus narrative, code for related event versus

narrative and contributing circumstances versus narrative and related event. The data entry process can start after the

codification processes have ended and the badge and control numbers are assigned.

5.2.4. Data Entry

The process for entering crash data into the PRDTPW computerized database is performed by the AAO. In the past,

this office populated all the fields contained in the police reports, resulting in more than 100 entries per crash. In

addition, all crash types were being entered, affecting the amount of data available for performing annual reports on

crash analysis.

The Accidents Analysis Office has taken actions to improve the data entry process and to reduce the time needed for

crash analyses. One of the actions taken was the reduction of fields used for data entry. After receiving

recommendations from the Roadside Safety Audit Team (actually the Traffic Safety Projects Division) of the PRHTA and

others, the office changed their protocol and their data entry page to enter only 35 fields from the police crash report.

The fields that are being entered are:

Citation Number Qty. Fatalities Type of Injury

Accident Date Accident Type Type of Lesion

Day of the Week Road Condition Driver’s Sex

Street or Road Road Charact. Driver’s Age

Km Traffic Control Authorized Driver

Intersection Visibility Driver Lic. Num.

Intersection Type Weather Driver Condition

Related Event Police Precinct Type of Vehicle

Collision Type Municipality Num. Use of Seat Belt

Qty. Vehicles Classification Contributing Circ.

Qty. Pedestrians Sex Impact Direction

Qty. Injured Age

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In addition, because the analysis requested by the Federal and local governments is based on fatal and injury crashes,

the office utilizes only these two crash types for performing the analysis.

5.3. Opportunities to Automate or Improve Process

After analyzing the process of crash data analysis short, intermediate, and long term opportunities for improvement

can be evaluated. For the short term, the Accident Analysis Office and the IT Office can evaluate and reprogram the

page used for data entry in order to reduce the possibility of human errors in the data entry process. In addition, for

the intermediate term, the DAVID traffic fines’ database from CESCO could be integrated to the AAO database to

reduce the amount of information entered by the AAO personnel. DAVID’s database includes the driver’s personal

information, vehicles’ plaque database and fines associated with the previous two. If both databases are integrated,

all the personal information can be obtained by entering the driver’s license number. For the long term consideration,

the AAO and the Police Department could integrate GIS maps into tablets or laptops to locate the crash at the scene

together with digital or paper police reports.

5.3.1. Use of GIS

The GIS Office from the Programming and Special Studies Area of the PRHTA is using aerial photos and field studies to

produce accurate primary and secondary highway maps of Puerto Rico. Since 1994 the entire highway system (state

and municipal roads) has been geo-referenced. Actually, the efforts are concentrated on identifying municipal roads,

especially the roads near municipal boundaries because of the current lack of information for these areas. These maps

are available to locate crashes but the information from the police report and map coordinates are not equivalent; one

has road and kilometer numbers and the other real coordinates. Actually, PRHTA is performing an extensive project to

install km posts along state roads, geo-reference them and revise origin and end points for each road. The project

includes the use of non-metal sign posts due to the increase of metal robbery in PR. After the completion of this

project (estimated by 2016), PRHTA will have enough data to integrate real coordinates and road kilometers for the

main roads of the Island.

The use of GPS technology is one of the latest developments currently being used by law enforcement agencies around

the World. Some examples of the applications of GPS technology used by police departments within the United States

are as follows:

Police radios

Cellular phones

Handheld digital devices

Digital in-car video camera systems

The PR Police Department has been making efforts to include GPS technology in crime and crash scene investigations

without results. To achieve this goal, it is fundamental for the PD to invest in the necessary technology, personnel, and

training.

5.3.2. Use of Tablets

The PR Police Department has been making efforts to try to introduce computers or other electronic devices in the

field to enter crash data directly into a digital database. Currently, the Police Department vehicles are not equipped

with any such technology for crash data collection purposes.

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5.3.3. Others

Other areas of opportunity to improve the process of data gathering include the following:

Implement the use of Crash Data Improvement Program Guide (April 2010) in the AAO

Install kilometer markers along secondary and tertiary roads

Install official municipality limits signs

Use GPS technology to locate crashes at the scene

Use GIS maps to identify the crash location at the AAO or for any other crash analysis tool

Develop an integrated database with data gathered by ACAA, Police Department, Emergency Management, 9-

1-1, FARS, Compulsory Insurance Company and PRHTA (GIS).

5.4. Findings and Recommendations to Update Processes and Tools

There have been efforts to improve the process to manage crash data driven by the PRPD. Efforts include police report

revisions, the use of data entry technology at crash scenes, reduction of fields used for data entry at the AAO, selection

of fatal and injury crashes reports for the Crash Analysis and others. However, as a part of the SHSP process for Puerto

Rico, we recommend a complete re-look at the crash data that is being collected. The current crash reporting form has

332 fields for fatal and serious injury crashes. That is a considerable amount of information to collect. Since only a

small part of that is being entered into the electronic crash databases, there is a need to simplify the PAR to reduce the

data collected following the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC).

One of the assignments for the “Traffic Crash Records and Information Systems” Emphasis Area team will be to take a

strategic look at the data being collected and determine whether each piece should be classified as “required to have,”

“nice to have,” or “no apparent reason to have.” It is important that this Emphasis Area team have representation

from all of the “E’s” so that data that is not needed by one particular stakeholder is not inadvertently removed from

the form.

Another assignment for the “Traffic Crash Records and Information Systems” emphasis area team will be to determine

what data collection methods are appropriate and applicable. As the prices of technology have continued to drop,

very low-cost GPS devices can now be deployed in all vehicles. This would allow law enforcement personnel to easy

locate all future crash scenes. The use of FHWA 402 Safety funds for the purchase of equipment to help law

enforcement agencies to collect better crash data is something that also should be explored.

It should be noted that when Florida’s Strategic Highway Safety Planning efforts were being initiated, it became

apparent that “Aggressive Driving” and “Distracted Driving” were areas that the partner agencies believed needed

emphasis. However, there was little data about the prevalence of aggressive or distracted driving crashes. Therefore,

modifications were made to Florida’s crash form and statutory language was added regarding aggressive driving and

distracted driving crashes. Florida’s crash report form now has check boxes for aggressive driving and distracted

driving. With this data, Florida is now able to track the trends in this emphasis area so that data-driven decisions can

be made. It is recommended that Puerto Rico similarly revise the crash form as necessary to track and monitor all of

the SHSP emphasis areas.

Florida’s law-enforcement agencies also have been successful in embracing the technology available to more easily

document traffic crashes. Virtually all law-enforcement vehicles have on-board laptop computers that can

communicate in real time to their dispatch/command centers. Thus, when officers arrive on-scene, they are able to

enter the data for the crash form into their onboard computer. Many of these agencies also have GPS integrated into

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the vehicle for fleet management and can pull the crash location information from the on-board GPS into the crash

data form. At a minimum, many modern digital cameras and/or smart phones have the capability to store a photo’s

location information within the .jpg file format. Thus by simply taking a picture of a crash scene, the police officer

could be collecting location data that can be used to help locate the crash into a GIS-based crash analysis system. At a

minimum, PRPD should begin collecting crash photos of all fatal and severe injury crashes that can be analyzed to

determine their coordinates.

Another significant help for Florida has been the use of close-range photogrammetry in the analysis of serious crashes.

The Florida Highway Patrol now uses close-range photogrammetry to gather location data quickly and efficiently at

crash scenes. This technology reduces the on-scene time for a crash investigator dramatically. Rather than several

hours to measure all of the crash data using total station methodology, the use of photogrammetry can allow for all

the measurements to be taken in a matter of minutes.

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6. Conclusions

This report provides an information baseline for the current highway safety practice in Puerto Rico. In addition, it provides a high level understanding of the different planning and execution tools used by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to improve safety on the highway system. As such, a review of the long, mid and short term transportation plans as well as the traffic data gathering tools and protocols was performed. The following bullets present the conclusions and/or recommendations based on the review of the before mentioned documents, interviews, and assessment of electronic tools and crash databases. For additional conclusions and recommendations related to transportation plans, crash databases, and others, please refer to the finding and recommendations section within this report.

Based on the information obtained, there are limitations on the data gathering process, the integration

between sources of information and data, the application of GIS maps, among others.

With the exception of the PR CMV Safety Plan, the plans include improvement to the crash database as part of

the Emphasis Areas/strategies.

Most of the plans use FARS data, as other databases that include injury crash information became available

recently.

Continuous update of the crash databases and the quality of the crash data is of upmost importance. The data

gathering process may benefit from GPS and other electronic tools that facilitate the location of crashes and

the flow of information without the need of additional manual data entry.

The current STIP for FY 2013-14 presents a series of Safety Improvements projects meeting the requirements

of MAP-21. However, there is an opportunity for prioritizing projects by implementing severity indices, and

performing RSAs, together with incremental Benefit Cost Analyses (BCA).

There are opportunities to refine the prioritization process in the short term by using the KABCO system, the

severity index and by improving the location of the accidents in the database.

Each planning document follows a unique format in terms of goals definition, strategies, areas of emphasis,

metrics, years of execution, etc. There is an opportunity to set guidelines at the state level to unify these

parameters.

There is very limited information regarding EMS in the Transportation Plans.

The LRTP seems well coordinated and in agreement with the MAP-21 requirements.

There is a consensus in all plans for addressing behavior driving for achieving a reduction in fatalities and

serious injuries.

All transportation plans, to a larger or smaller degree, make reference to driver behavior as critical.

The PR CMV Safety Plan and the HSP from the PRTSC emphasizes the need for establishing regulations to

continuously improve in safety.

Both, the HSP and the Interim SHSP recognize the importance of the EMS as part of the Four Es to reduce

fatalities and serious injuries. The LRTP and the PR CMV Safety Program do not incorporate EMS as part of

their plans.

PUERTO RICO



4

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7. References

Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority (PRHTA). “Interim Strategic Highway Safety Plan” (2013), San Juan,

PR.

Puerto Rico Traffic Safety Commission (PRTSC). “Puerto Rico Highway Safety Plan FY 2014”,(2014) San Juan, PR

Puerto Rico Traffic Safety Commission. “Problem ID”, (2014), San Juan, PR

Puerto Rico Public Service Commission. “ Safety Action Plan for the Puerto Rico Public Service Commission Motor

Carrier Safety Assistance Program”, (March, 2014), San Juan, PR

Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority (PRHTA). “2040 PR Islandwide Long Range Transportation Plan”

(September 2013), San Juan, PR

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). (2014). “FARS Analytical User’s Manual 1975-2012.” Publ.

DOT HS 811 855, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC.

University of Alabama. Center for Advanced Public Safety (2009). “CARE – Critical Analysis Reporting Environment.”

http://caps.ua.edu/care.aspx, Accessed March 2014.

The TMC Qualitative (TMCQ). (2013a). “Campaign Effectiveness Study of the Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol:

Pre-campaign vs. Post-campaign Report.” Final Report, Puerto Rico Traffic Safety Commission, San Juan, PR.

The TMC Qualitative (TMCQ). (2013b). “Puerto Rico Observational Seat Belt Use Survey 2013.” Final Report, Puerto

Rico Traffic Safety Commission, San Juan, PR.

http://caps.ua.edu/care.aspx

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