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22 Hazardous Materials Transportation Incident Data for Root Cause Analysis
and proposed solutions. These considerations are addressed, in turn, in the following discus-
sion. It should be noted that a disproportionate number of prior studies has focused on the truck
mode. However, where other modes have been considered, the findings and implications are
remarkably consistent.
2.3.1 Data and Analysis Problems
As early as 1981, there was acknowledgement that analyzing transportation safety using empir-
ical accident data was problematic. Beginning then, and continuing to the present time, numerous
studies have cited the following five basic problems:
1. Inconsistent reporting practices within and across regions,
2. Non-reporting of reportable accidents,
3. Missing information in accident report records,
4. Inaccurate information included in accident report records, and
5. Data elements needed for root cause analysis not appearing on the report form.
A variety of reasons have been provided for why these problems exist, most notably
· Low law enforcement priority of data collection at the accident scene when compared with
protecting public safety;
· Lack of understanding of how to complete an accident report involving vehicles hauling
hazardous materials due to the low frequency of filling out these reports for police and many
carriers;
· Reliance on manual data entry;
· Different reporting forms used by entities to serve different interests; and
· Disagreement or misunderstandings regarding the definition of terms.
Whatever the case, until these problems are adequately resolved, the ability to perform highly
effective root cause accident analysis will be compromised.
2.3.2 Solutions Being Implemented or Under Consideration
Fortunately, the literature also contains suggestions and indications that some progress is being
made in addressing data quality problems. Among the strategies being implemented or under
consideration are the following:
· Posting available accident data on the Internet for review and feedback regarding its
authenticity;
· Designing standardized accident reports toward a goal of more uniform data collection;
· Making extensive use of electronic data entry;
· Using visualization technologies to more precisely locate where an event occurred;
· Having data collection requirements influenced by available root cause analysis methodologies
(e.g., HFACS, Haddon Matrix);
· Using sampling techniques to target certain types of accidents;
· Including common identifiers in complementary accident databases so as to integrate key
causal information while avoiding duplication of effort; and
· Providing better training for law enforcement officials and other data entry personnel to
enable them to collect and process information in a consistent, complete, accurate, and more
timely manner.
Many of these strategies offer considerable potential, and are among those that were given
careful consideration in the hazmat root cause analysis study.
