Evaluation of New Mexico crash data reported to MCMIS crash file

Abstract

This report is part of a series evaluating the data submitted by the several States to the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) Crash File. Earlier studies showed that reporting to the MCMIS Crash File was significantly incomplete. This report examines reporting from the state of New Mexico. New Mexico Police Accident Report (PAR) files were matched to the MCMIS Crash file to determine the nature and extent of underreporting. In 2003, there were 1,042 vehicles involved in crashes in New Mexico that were reportable to the MCMIS Crash file. Of these vehicles, 94 were actually reported, resulting in a reporting rate of 9.0%. It appears that there are significant problems in following the guidelines for reporting MCMIS reportable cases. In addition, 47 cases, or 32.4% of the 145 MCMIS cases that were reported do not qualify for reporting. Reporting rates vary by crash severity, crash month, road system, vehicle license plate state, county, and reporting agency. The reporting rate for fatal crashes was 27.5%. Of the 94 cases reported, only 4 were reported after July. The reporting rate was greater on rural interstate roads (16.5%) than on urban roads (4.4%), and vehicles with license plates from states outside of New Mexico had a higher reporting rate (12.3%) than vehicles with New Mexico license plates (4.8%). The reporting rate for buses was only 3.3%. Data quality is also reviewed. The PAR file contains some inconsistencies with respect to vehicle type. The MCMIS file, even though containing only 145 observations, suffers from missing data on several variables.