Evaluation of 2009 New York Crash Data Reported to the MCMIS Crash File

Abstract

This report is part of a series evaluating the data reported to the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) Crash File undertaken by the Center for National Truck and Bus Statistics at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. The earlier studies showed that reporting to the MCMIS Crash File was incomplete. This report examines the factors that are associated with reporting rates for the State of New York. MCMIS Crash File records were matched to the New York crash file to determine the nature and extent of underreporting. Because all levels of the MCMIS crash file reporting criteria could not be applied, the evaluation of reporting completeness was restricted to crashes that involved either a fatality or an injury transported for immediate medical attention. Of these crashes, an estimated 36.7 percent were properly reported. Reporting rates were found to be related to crash severity and the configuration of the vehicle. Over 82 percent of fatal crash involvements were reported, but only 34.6 percent of injury/transported involvements. Crashes in which a vehicle was towed due to disabling damage could not be identified in the New York crash data supplied, so reporting rates for that subset cannot be estimated. Trucks were reported at a slightly higher rate than buses. Large trucks, especially truck tractors, were reported at a higher rate than smaller trucks. Missing data rates are low for most variables. Corresponding data elements in the MCMIS and New York crash files were quite consistent, though specific problems were noted with respect to one truck configuration. The timeliness of reporting was good, with about 91 percent of records submitted to the MCMIS file within 90 days of the crash.