Accident Data Collection Methodology for Building a Traffic Accident Database for Tamil Nadu (India)

India is facing the challenge of reducing road accident fatalities, which claim close to 100,000 lives every year. Road infrastructure is slowly improving, but the number of vehicles on the road is rising fast and so is the number of road accidents, which continue to increase year after year. The data collected by law enforcement agencies is not detailed enough to identify causes and develop solutions. Traffic accidents need to be investigated in detail to include specifics concerning crash location, vehicle damage and injuries sustained by road users.

The development of such a detailed database requires the co-operation of a number of government and private organizations associated with road traffic collisions. The foundation for data collection activities is a road traffic accident notification network that enables access to accident details, crashed vehicles, and injury reports in a timely manner. This paper describes the methodology for developing a road traffic accident database for Chennai City and Tamil Nadu, which can also be extended to pan India. Crash data collected using this methodology are also presented.