UK Government upgrades ‘CrashMap’

Less than a year after it was launched, the UK Government has updated it ‘CrashMap’ internet site with the all the latest Department for Transport (DfT) data on road traffic crashes and new features to help community groups and road safety campaigners. CrashMap now includes the DfT’s Reported Road Casualties 2011 statistics and will continue to provide the most up to date and comprehensive searchable map for organizations and individuals that require road safety information and data. The internet site receives up to 16,000 searches a day, as members of the public and local campaign groups access the information they need to understand road risk in their communities. It also has around 4,500 registered user accounts for those that need to download detailed collision reports.

CrashMap now features an updated search facility that allows users to just look for crashes that involved road users that are most at risk. The option to only look at collisions involving a child, a pedestrian, cyclist or motorcyclist is likely to be of benefit to those with a particular interest in improving safety for these groups. Cyclists are currently in the spotlight, as 2011 saw a 16% increase in serious injuries to cyclists over the previous year. CrashMap is also now offering free access to the full reports for road safety charities, as part of its commitment to improve safety for all.

A spokesman from CrashMap, said, “Just 6 weeks ago the Government reported that road deaths and serious injuries had risen in 2011, after years of continuous improvement. Community leaders and campaign groups are rightly concerned about this, but they also need the information to help them engage at a local level and ensure that new measures are introduced to protect vulnerable road users.” Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive of Brake, the road safety charity, said, “CrashMap is an incredibly useful tool for communities and organizations working to prevent casualties and make our roads safer for everyone. We support communities campaigning for safer roads, so we know how important it is that they can access information on the crash history of their area. CrashMap is an easy-to-use tool for seeing where and how many people have been hurt or lost lives.”

20 August 2012