Maryland Crash Data With Some Glimmer of Information


Well it looks like I was a victim of yet another upgrade to the Maryland Highway Safety Office website when I wrote complaining about the lack of crash data. Thanks to Chris Merriam for investigating where the data went but even though the state does publish some data it still lacks info that would help uncover behavioral issues, So to illustrate my point here are the crash types that can be found by querying FARS for 2011
Crash TypeRoadSide WalkUnknown
Motorist Lost Control - Other / Unknown10
Crossing Paths - Intersection - Other / Unknown Control01
Head-On - Motorist10
Parallel Paths - Other / Unknown101
TOTAL311


You'll note that FARS crash type "Bicycle ride through signalized intersection" was not a crash type for a Maryland cycling fatality in 2011. Just thought that needed to be said.

Now let's look for similar information from the State's data.
Cross. Not at Inter.1
Walk/Ride with Traff.3
Other / Unknown1
TOTAL5


Or maybe cyclists (ped) location will give us more information.
On Rd. Not Crosswalk4
Other / Unknown1
TOTAL5


Hopefully you can see why I would be desirous of better data from the state. I also found it interesting that sidewalk riding showed up in FARS but not in the state data. Well with FARS I can look for more detail in a crash, so I looked into it a bit. I believe the state still uses the nearest cross street for the geolocation data so Hammonds Ln & Upland St may not be the exact location just the nearest location. Well Hammonds Ln is an interesting street, not what I would call bike friendly and there is only a sidewalk on one side, which does have a reputation for increasing crashes as too many have to cross at "not crosswalk" to get to the residences on the other side or vice versa. Now if you were a 90 year old man where would you ride? This is a major problem with too many streets, they do not accommodate the elderly or the young. So while they do not give who's at fault here I would be willing to bet it was the cyclist, when IMHO it was the road design which contributed heavily to this tragedy.

Good crash data is imperative for good safety advice and good advocacy. While we can get good information on fatalities, good data for general crashes is still hard to come by and a story about crash stats from Boston still cannot be writen about Baltimore or other parts of the state and that's my point.


And in case you are interested this is where all 5 (red pins) Maryland bicycling fatalities took place (note two are very close together just south of Baltimore in Anne Arundel County.)
image

by B' Spokes

Like most people I live a hectic life and who has the time for much exercise? Thanks to xtracycle now I do. By using my bike for daily activities I can get things done and get an hour plus work out in 15 minutes extra of my time, not a bad deal and beats taking the extra time going to the gym. In case you are still having trouble being motivated; the National Center of Disease Control says that inactivity is the #2 killer in the United States just behind smoking. ( http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/bb_nutrition/ ) Get out there and start living life! I can carry home a full shopping cart of groceries, car pool two kids or just get lost in the great outdoors camping for a week. Well I got go, another outing this weekend.
  • Currently 0.00/5
Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast)

Share It!

Login required to comment
Be the first to comment