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66 Hazardous Materials Transportation Incident Data for Root Cause Analysis
FARS does include information about the time and geographic location of the crash, as well
as vehicle descriptive information, that can be used to obtain a probable link to records in other
files. This includes date, time, state, county, city (if applicable), and an alpha string with the road
name and mile marker. The file also includes latitude and longitude, although its accuracy is
unknown.
FARS is highly compatible in another important way--capturing crash information using
fields and code levels that are consistent with standard accepted practices. The code levels are
almost always consistent with those available in other databases with elements in common. This
includes the national crash files such as GES and CDS, as well as most state crash data systems.
4.3.10 Data Uses
NCSA uses FARS data along with GES data to produce an annual publication called Traffic
Safety Facts (NHTSA 2008). This publication tracks annual trends for many crash factors of
interest, such as vehicle involvements, deaths, injuries, restraint use, and drug or alcohol use.
NHTSA and other analysts use FARS data in virtually all traffic safety analyses that require data
on fatal crashes.
4.4 Trucks Involved in Fatal Accidents (TIFA)
4.4.1 Agencies/Organizations Responsible for Collecting
and Entering Data into Database
The TIFA file is produced by the Center for National Truck and Bus Statistics at the Univer-
sity of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).
4.4.2 Database Years of Coverage
The TIFA file was initiated in 1980 and has been in continuous operation to the present.
4.4.3 Criteria for Reporting and Inclusion of Data
All cases in TIFA are also found in the FARS file, so TIFA shares the FARS reporting thresh-
old as follows for crashes in which:
· A fatality occurs as a result of the crash, or
· A fatality occurs within 30 days of the crash, and
· At least one motor vehicle in transport on a public trafficway.
Additionally, the TIFA file includes only medium or heavy trucks, defined as trucks with a
GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds.
4.4.4 Types of Hazmat Data Included
From its inception to 2004, TIFA data captured whether the cargo contained a quantity of haz-
ardous material requiring a placard for each cargo body. Whether the hazmat cargo spilled as a
consequence of the crash also was captured. The quantity of cargo is captured in terms of weight.
Package type information is not collected in detail. Cargo in TIFA is classified into general cat-
egories, such as general freight, solids in bulk, liquids in bulk, or gases in bulk. The specific cargo
type, however, is recorded in an alphanumeric string. Examples of the type of information
