MA CRISS combines information from police crash reports, emergency medical services, emergency departments, hospital records, and driver’s license/history data. Separately, these data sources provide critical information about various aspects of crashes, such as:
- roadway environmental factors
- actions of vehicles and non-motorists (pedestrians and bicyclists)
- drivers’ prior driving violations
- use of seatbelts and helmets
- types and severity of injuries
By linking these data sources together, MA CRISS provides comprehensive information about motor vehicle crashes in Massachusetts. This information is used by traffic safety advocates, health care providers, state agencies, policymakers, and others to reduce crash-related injuries and deaths on Massachusetts roadways.
The databases in MA CRISS provide information that would not be available if the databases were analyzed separately. For example, data on the race and ethnicity of injured persons is not included in crash or driver data in Massachusetts but is included in hospital records. Linked MA CRISS data provides more comprehensive information on factors that contribute to the most serious types of crash injuries. Additionally, this data provides detailed information about the circumstances of a crash that provides insight about the types and severity of injuries sustained, such as traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. The inclusion of driver’s license/history data in MA CRISS helps explain whether being held responsible for driving violations at the time of the crash affects a driver’s future risk of crashes and driving violations.
Purpose
The Massachusetts Crash-Related Injury Surveillance System provides traffic safety advocates, health care providers, state agencies, policymakers, and others with data to:
- Identify key contributing and protective factors for crash-related injuries and deaths in MA.
- Identify crash-related injuries and deaths to MA workers.
- Inform and evaluate traffic safety policies, programs, and awareness campaigns to reduce crash-related injuries and deaths in MA.
- Identify racial and ethnic inequities in the incidence of crash-related injuries and deaths in MA and inform strategies to eliminate those inequities.
- Identify racial and ethnic inequities in traffic safety policies and programs in MA and inform strategies to eliminate those inequities.
The DPH Injury Surveillance Program has released multiple reports and other data products featuring the analysis of MA CRISS data. These are available on the Injury Surveillance Program’s Transportation Safety Data web page. For further information about MA CRISS, please contact us at: mdph-isp@mass.gov.
The MA Crash-Related Injury Surveillance System has been supported financially by the MA Department of Transportation; MA Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Office of Grants and Research; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.