Investigators from Science University of Malaysia Zero in on Risk Management (Errors In Accident Data, Its Types, Causes and Methods of Rectification Analysis of the Literature)

2019 OCT 11 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Researchers detail new data in Risk Management. According to news reporting out of George Town, Malaysia, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Most of the decisions taken to improve road safety are based on accident data, which makes it the back bone of any country’s road safety system. Errors in this data will lead to misidentification of black spots and hazardous road segments, projection of false estimates pertinent to accidents and fatality rates, and detection of wrong parameters responsible for accident occurrence, thereby making the entire road safety exercise ineffective.”

Financial support for this research came from Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) Malaysia.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the Science University of Malaysia, “Its extent varies from country to country depending upon various factors. Knowing the type of error in the accident data and the factors causing it enables the application of the correct method for its rectification. Therefore there is a need for a systematic literature review that addresses the topic at a global level. This paper fulfils the above research gap by providing a synthesis of literature for the different types of errors found in the accident data of 46 countries across the six regions of the world. The errors are classified and discussed with respect to each type and analysed with respect to income level; assessment with regard to the magnitude for each type is provided; followed by the different causes that result in their occurrence, and the various methods used to address each type of error. Among high-income countries the extent of error in reporting slight, severe, non-fatal and fatal injury accidents varied between 39-82%, 16-52%, 12-84%, and 0-31% respectively. For middle-income countries the error for the same categories varied between 93-98%, 32.5-96%, 34-99% and 0.5-89.5% respectively. The only four studies available for low-income countries showed that the error in reporting non-fatal and fatal accidents varied between 69-80% and 0-61% respectively. The logistic relation of error in accident data reporting, dichotomised at 50%, indicated that as the income level of a country increases the probability of having less error in accident data also increases. Average error in recording information related to the variables in the categories of location, victim’s information, vehicle’s information, and environment was 27%, 37%, 16% and 19% respectively. Among the causes identified for errors in accident data reporting, Policing System was found to be the most important. Overall 26 causes of errors in accident data were discussed out of which 12 were related to reporting and 14 were related to recording. ‘Capture-Recapture’ was the most widely used method among the 11 different methods: that can be used for the rectification of under-reporting. There were 12 studies pertinent to the rectification of accident location and almost all of them utilised a Geographical Information System (GIS) platform coupled with a matching algorithm to estimate the correct location.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “It is recommended that the policing system should be reformed and public awareness should be created to help reduce errors in accident data.”

For more information on this research see: Errors In Accident Data, Its Types, Causes and Methods of Rectification Analysis of the Literature. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2019;130():3-21. Accident Analysis & Prevention can be contacted at: Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, England. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Accident Analysis & Prevention - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/accident-analysis-and-prevention/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting A. Ahmed, Science University of Malaysia, School of Civil Engineering, George Town, Malaysia. Additional authors for this research include A.F.M. Sadullah and A.S. Yahya.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2017.07.018. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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