Our department’s injury surveillance system achieved an overall score of 86.1 percent in a Traffic Records Assessment that was just completed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. We exceeded the 24-state average score of 64.3 percent.
The Traffic Records Assessment was managed by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, which worked with staff from our department, ADOT, DPS, and the Administration of Courts to research 391 questions reflecting a model traffic records data system. Arizona’s overall traffic records data system score was 74.4 percent, exceeding the 67 percent 24-state average score.
The injury surveillance system included Arizona’s EMS and trauma registries (AZ-PIERS and ASTR) in the Bureau of EMS & Trauma System, the Hospital Discharge Database in the Bureau of Public Health Statistics, several crash-related injury prevention programs in the Office of Injury Prevention, and databases in the Office of Vital Records.
Some identified strengths in Arizona’s injury surveillance system included:
- Arizona’s injury surveillance system is strong in each of its basic components, with demonstrated ability to produce reports utilizing multiple data sources.
- Arizona has the capacity to integrate EMS, trauma, and crash data.
- Every component data system has an established process for sharing data with outside parties.
- Arizona’s Traffic Records Assessment Final Reportis available on the Bureau of EMS & Trauma System’s website.
Congress requires states to complete a Traffic Records Assessment every five years to qualify for specified highway safety grants under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century legislation. Six primary components of a state’s traffic records system are evaluated, including crash, driver, vehicle, roadway, citation/adjudication, and injury surveillance.
