A canary in the coal mine
By: Loren Hill, State Aid Program Support Engineer
Property Damage Only (PDO) crashes are used by engineers and planners to examine the safety of an intersection or segment. They are early indicators of problems that may lead to more serious or even fatal crashes. Knowledge of these crashes can lead to minor improvements that improve operations and safety. Statutes have changed in the past several years so that crash reports to the Department of Public safety (DPS) only need to be submitted if one of the vehicles is towed from the scene or if a person is injured. This change, along with the increased workload and understaffing of law enforcement, has led to a dramatic decrease in PDO reporting.
In response to this decrease in reporting, an LRRB project was formed to educate law enforcement on the importance of reporting PDO crashes. The highlight of the report is a three minute video which discusses the importance of PDO crashes. This video can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxJoWA0iPnI.
In addition, a four-page fact sheet was created: “Reporting crashes: Why ALL crashes are important”. This can be viewed at https://mdl.mndot.gov/items/m18041.
This video and fact sheet is a great tool to begin a dialogue between users of data and law enforcement. In understanding the importance of this data, perhaps a canary can be saved through the implementation of proactive strategies before a more serious crash occurs.
Questions?
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Loren Hill, State Aid Program Support Engineer at loren.hill@state.mn.us.