Cost analysis of Virginia system for processing accident data.

Kelsh, William E; Heitzler, Carter P; Rauth, Susan G · 1984 · ROSA P / Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC)

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Summary

This 1984 report by the Virginia Highway and Transportation Research Council (VHTRC) addresses the inefficiency and high cost of Virginia’s system for processing highway accident data. Motivated by a decade of debate and a lack of economic justification for system reforms, the study was commissioned by the Safety Research Advisory Committee to identify current costs, determine the feasibility of alternative configurations, and recommend improvements. The research focused specifically on the processing of data from the FR-300P police accident report form, which flows through six state agencies: the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Department of State Police (DSP), Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation (VDH&T), VHTRC, the Department of Education, and the Virginia Department of Transportation Safety. The methodology involved interviews with personnel across these agencies to map data flows, identify operational procedures, and calculate costs based on 1980 data. The study found that the existing system cost the Commonwealth approximately $1.06 million annually and was plagued by significant administrative and institutional deficiencies. These included a lack of centralized responsibility, fragmented authority among agencies, and widespread resistance to change. Operationally, the system was duplicative in at least nineteen areas, resulting in accident data that were often incomplete, conflicting, and stale. Processing times were excessive, with data taking two to three months to become available, and the system relied on redundant manual processing functions across multiple computer systems. To address these issues, the study team proposed an alternative centralized processing system. This recommendation involved consolidating fragmented manual processing functions, creating a single fully-edited accident file, and establishing interagency agreements for system maintenance. The proposed alternative was projected to yield substantial benefits, including a net reduction of seven clerical positions, a decrease in data processing time from months to one week, and significant improvements in data quality and uniformity. The estimated implementation cost for this centralized file alternative was $129,500, with a payback period of less than two years based on personnel cost savings alone. The study concluded that this reform would not only reduce costs and improve data accuracy but also provide a flexible foundation for future improvements in Virginia’s traffic records system, potentially funded by federal highway safety monies.

Key finding

Virginia's accident-records processing system cost about 1.06 million dollars in 1980, and a proposed centralized alternative costing 129,500 dollars to implement would pay back in under two years through personnel savings.

Methodology

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• incidence prevalence
• naturalistic crash near crash

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• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes
• Methodological Resource: dataset resource