A Mobile Solution to Vehicle Collision Reporting MARKET TRENDS REPORT
Introduction On average, there are 6 million car accidents on U.S. roads every year. That’s roughly 16,438 per day that must be documented, reported and entered into databases. Police officers are often first on the scene to help the injured and collect information about the crash. The problem is that documenting vehicle collisions can take a police officer as long as two hours, even for relatively minor accidents. The process for reporting and data collection is complicated and slow and often relies on outdated technology. One way forward? Moving to mobile-based solutions designed to save officers time by drastically reducing the effort required to document and report vehicle collisions. To learn more about how police departments can begin integrating this approach, GovLoop partnered with Mark43, a leader in modern public safety software, for this report. In the following pages, we’ll explore mobile technology for collision reporting, why compliance is more necessary than ever today, and gain insights from Clint Wansa, Business Development Executive, and James Friedman, Director of Product, at Mark43.
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MARKET TRENDS REPORT
By the Numbers
2+ hours
12 million
is how long it typically takes officers to complete a collision report.
vehicles were involved in crashes in the United States in 2018.
280 million 4.4 million vehicles are in operation in the United States, where more than 227.5 million drivers hold a valid driver’s license.
people were injured in crashes seriously enough to require medical attention in 2019.
6.7 million police-reported motor vehicle crashes were logged in 2018.
A MOBILE SOLUTION TO VEHICLE COLLISION REPORTING
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A Need to Make Quick Work of Collision Reporting The Challenge: A Time-Consuming Process for Reporting Crashes
The Solution: Creating Mobility in the Field
When it comes to the rules of the road, clunky and timeconsuming processes for properly documenting vehicular incidents are a significant speedbump for responding police officers.
The key to improving the efficiency of data collection is a mobile solution designed to save officers time in the field by drastically reducing the complexity of documenting and reporting vehicle collisions.
Documenting vehicle collisions can take an officer as many as two to three hours out of a 10-hour shift — hours they spend sitting in front of a computer, rather than patrolling the streets.
In fact, with the right platform — e.g., one that is mobilefirst, integrates with existing workflows and processes, and automatically meets important compliance standards — officers can complete a collision report in just 20 minutes without sacrificing data quality.
“This is time that could be better used by an officer helping to support the community and solve serious crimes,” said Clint Wansa, Business Development Executive at Mark43. But data needs to be collected for various purposes, including the state and insurers and to show compliance with reporting requirements, such as the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC), a standardized dataset for motor vehicle crashes. “Quality data on motor vehicle crashes is essential to improving highway safety at all levels of government,” according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “The data is used to identify issues, determine highway safety messages and strategic communication campaigns, optimize the location of selective law enforcement, inform decision-makers of needed highway safety legislation, and evaluate the impact of highway safety countermeasures.” When the time required for crash reporting and data collection competes with the other urgent issues police officers must attend to during their shifts, proper reporting isn’t always done meticulously. As a result, many departments fall out of compliance with reporting requirements. And that complicates sharing and comparing data among local, state and federal government agencies. So how can police officers and other first responders fulfill the need for recording and reporting traffic incidents efficiently?
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Mobile crash reporting technology includes several features that can increase efficiency, compliance and data collection: •
Data sharing: If multiple police officers respond to the scene of a collision, they can all access and share data and collaborate on reporting.
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Photo and media collection made easy: Mobile-first technology allows officers to simply take photos of the scene, scan plates and licenses and enter other data that must be documented digitally.
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Narrative dictation: For reporting purposes, an officer previously had to write down their account of what happened in the collision. With mobile-first technology, they can record a voice memo describing the crash.
“A mobile crash reporting solution can circumvent all of the inefficiencies and discrepancies of traditional paper-based documentation,” said James Friedman, Director of Product at Mark43. “You can capture everything from license plates [and] the makes of the vehicles, directly with the phone. You can use GPS and other sensors directly on the mobile device as well. You can scan licenses directly into the device.” With a mobile-first approach and technology, data collection becomes more accurate, efficient and compliant.
MARKET TRENDS REPORT
Best Practcies for Mobile Crash Reporting A mobile crash reporting solution that can serve drivers and first responders on the scene of a collision must have specific features and best practices incorporated into its technology and approach. Here are a few critical ones to focus on.
Mobile-first:
Compliance:
The technology must optimize the presentation of websites, workflows and platforms for mobile devices and create a responsive design that will fit all screen sizes. “Officers, their offices are patrol cars, motorcycles if you’re a motorcycle cop, even a helicopter if you’re a helicopter pilot; that’s your office,” Friedman said. “So, bringing that mobile-first platform is crucial.”
MMUCC provides a “minimum” set of data elements and helps states collect reliable crash data, effectively guide enforcement planning and shape safety policy. But as explained previously, this is often not happening. “A lot of states are behind on data collection and compliance,” Wansa said. “There are states that are offering agencies money and grants to actually just be compliant because when they’re not, the states are void of data for things like city engineers and roadway policies in an area. We believe that crash reporting technology should create an easy reporting process that ensures agencies are MMUCC-compliant without having to do anything to address this issue.”
On-device scanning: Often, technology that requires a data exchange query or another scanner also requires a separate device or a special hookup. “In fact, a lot of times at the scene of a crash, officers, again, have to go back to a device in their car to swipe a license if they have that ability,” said Friedman. Being able to use the device in hand and on-device scanning is critical. And an officer should be able to do it without having to run a query elsewhere when they may not have an internet connection.
Integration with existing processes: When it comes to collision documenting, reporting and compliance, the amount of disparate data and information can be overwhelming. “In a two-vehicle crash, an officer’s reporting no less than 150 data points,” said Friedman. “And that’s compounded in larger, more involved collisions.” It’s critical that the technology seamlessly integrate this data and process into existing workflows that the police force is already using.
A MOBILE SOLUTION TO VEHICLE COLLISION REPORTING
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How a Vehicle Collision Report Would Unfold with Mobile Crash Reporting Technology Today, when a vehicle collision happens, a police officer reports to the scene, establishes the safety and health of all involved, and then begins a cumbersome, manual process to document and report the collision. But if the officer had a seamless, easy-to-use, mobile crash reporting technology platform, things would play out differently: 1. The officer surveys the scene and establishes whether someone needs medical assistance.
6. Next, the officer uses the diagram sketch builder, clicking and dragging icons, arrows, lights and more to build out the scene diagram.
2. The officer takes out QuickCrash’s mobile app and scans the licenses of drivers and witnesses involved.
7. When all data has been collected, the officer can render it directly into necessary forms in Mark43 RMS, or any existing records management system (RMS).
3. The on-device scanning automatically populates that information.
8. Then, the data and information are integrated and synced with state-level submission fields.
4. Using the mobile app, the officer begins snapping photos of the scene and vehicle plates, looking up the make and models of all vehicles involved.
9. The necessary parties can review and approve the report and then submit it to the state.
5. The officer then records voice memos for the narrative section of the report.
HOW M ARK43 HEL PS Mark43, the leading cloud-based public safety software company, recently acquired QuickCrash, a mobile app designed to save law enforcement officers time in the field by drastically reducing the effort they must spend on documenting and reporting vehicle collisions. Wansa, a former police officer, and Friedman, a developer and designer with more than a decade of experience, came together to build
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QuickCrash after Wansa grew exasperated with the inefficiencies of crash reporting during his 12 years on the force. “Mark43 is blazing the trail for law enforcement technology,” Friedman said. “With our cloud-first approach, agile technology and know-how of what best services the community, we are leading the charge in this space.” For more information visit www.mark43.com.
MARKET TRENDS REPORT
Conclusion Accurate collision investigation and reporting are invaluable and necessary. They help in developing programs to reduce the number and severity of collisions and provide a basis for developing proper traffic laws, safety programs and other collision prevention policy. But in its current approach and form, the process is inefficient, information is hard to collect and it takes officers away from other critical functions. It’s time for a change. Moving to a mobile-first approach with modern technology for crash reporting will improve not only the functions of officers and first responders, but all involved. Proper data collection will ensure compliance with cities’ and states’ policies and laws. Those involved in collisions can trust that their data and information are recorded accurately.
ABOUT MARK43
ABOUT GOVLOOP
Mark43 builds the world’s most powerful public safety CAD, RMS, analytics, and property and evidence platform. Public safety has changed in the last 30 years. Technology vendors haven’t. Mark43 provides a refreshing, battle-tested, enterprise implementation experience and product for any agency, with a special competency for major agencies. The cloud-based products are built only with the most modern technologies and are constantly updated, guaranteeing that the platform always outpaces the rest of the market. In addition to offering the leading public safety technology platform, Mark43 also offers industry-leading customer care. With comprehensive implementation, launch, and sustainment support, Mark43 ensures every customer is cared for no matter the circumstances.
GovLoop’s mission is to “connect government to improve government.” We aim to inspire public-sector professionals by serving as the knowledge network for government. GovLoop connects more than 300,000 members, fostering cross-government collaboration, solving common problems and advancing government careers. GovLoop is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with a team of dedicated professionals who share a commitment to connect and improve government. For more information about this report, please reach out to info@govloop.com.
Learn more here: www.mark43.com.
A MOBILE SOLUTION TO VEHICLE COLLISION REPORTING
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