As advocates for people-centered, safer streets, crash data is a valuable tool to make the case for why a street needs:
- traffic calming
- bike/LIT lanes
- fewer/narrower lanes
- other safety interventions
Using crash data can help convey the urgency to develop safety measures people feel based on their experiences. Yet the information can be hard to find, outdated, or even inaccurate.
GDOT maintains a crash data portal that can help: Georgia Crash Data.
It includes a dashboard and search tools. Using crash reports aggregated in the GEARS database, the dashboard is powerful enough for most people’s needs. (There’s a more advanced search tool called Crash Query that requires a login).
Overview of how to access and use the crash data portal
Navigation
GDOT website >> Travel Info & Data >> Maps & Data >> Crash Data & Reporting >> View Dashboard
Search functions
Filters, shown to the right and at the top of the page, allow you to search based on your specific interests.
Views
The dashboard has different views - click on the “overview” dropdown menu to select how you want to view the data. We often use the “where-map view” along with the raw data to see where crashes are happening, and gain some insight into the circumstances of the crashes.
You can download the charts, maps, and raw data.
Glossary of terms
The tool does use several terms worth knowing before you start your search. We've included a few below from the dashboard's Glossary of Terms page.
- MPO: A Metropolitan Planning Organization is the policy board of an organization created and designated to carry out the metropolitan transportation planning process. MPOs are required to represent localities in all urbanized areas with populations over 50,000. Atlanta’s MPO is the Atlanta Regional Commission.
- SHSP Emphasis Areas: SHSP stands for Strategic Highway Safety Plan and the emphasis areas indicate aspects of crashes states chose to focus on, for example crashes that involve excessive speed or pedestrians.
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KABCO Severity: tells whether the crash resulted in a serious injury or fatality. For example,
K = A victim was killed.
A = The victim suffered incapacitating injuries that require hospitalization and/or transport for medical care, such as broken bones, amputation.
B = Injuries to victims were evident to officers at the scene, but they were non-disabling lacerations, scrapes, or minor bruises.
C = A victim suffered possible injuries.
O = There were no apparent injuries involved in the crash.
Other filters you may find useful
- Social vulnerability index — refers to the "resilience of communities when confronted by external stresses on human health." Socially Vulnerable Populations include those who have specific needs, such as people without motor vehicles, people with disabilities, older adults, and people with limited English proficiency. Read more
- School nearby — use this filter to search for crashes within various distances of a school
- Ownership/Maintenance Agency — select whether you are interested in crashes that took place on city, county, or state roads
- Intersection-related — find crashes at intersections of other streets that cross the corridor you are assessing
If there's a data point you don’t see that you'd like to be included on the dashboard, contact GDOT to suggest it.
Here’s an example of a map pulled using the “where-map” view. This maps shows crashes that injured a person while biking for the years 2017-2021 in Atlanta:
This map shows the same time frame for people injured or killed after being hit by the driver of a car while walking or using a wheelchair:
(Even at this zoomed-out level, you can clearly see parts of the High Injury Network.)
Have questions? Would you like support using the dashboard for your community? Email [email protected].