As part of an effort to improve driver safety, the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security (DSHS) has made crash data available via an open data portal.
“The crash data portal helps us give drivers the information they want and it is our hope that with this information, our citizens will be equipped to make safer decisions behind the wheel. We know an informed driver is a safer driver,” said Safety and Homeland Security Secretary Nathaniel McQueen, Jr.
While DSHS is responsible for statewide crash data overall, the project is the result of a collaboration between several state agencies including the Office of Highway Safety, Delaware State Police, Delaware Deport of Transportation, Department of Technology and Information, Delaware Criminal Justice Information System, and the Delaware Police Chiefs Council.
“Delaware continues to have far too many crashes in our state and sadly we had the most road fatalities in more than 30 years last year,” said Secretary of Transportation Nicole Majeski. “This new information portal helps us all continue to work toward making our roads safer.”
In a press release, DSHS said that making crash data available through the portal allows the public to engage in interactive analysis and data exploration. Additionally, users who are responsible for evaluating and planning the safety enhancement of potential crash sites or hazardous roadway conditions will find the dashboard useful as it is updated monthly and contains crashes that occurred since 2009 through six months ago.
Portal users can filter crash data and visualize the data in charts, graphs, and maps. In addition, applied filters are reflected in dashboard elements. An embedded table within the dashboard allows users to export the data, as filter or the entire dataset.
Work on this project began more than three years ago when state Sen. Stephanie Hansen, a Democrat, sponsored a bill to expand the DSHS’s ability to publicly share crash data.
“The Office of Highway Safety is pleased to be a part of the collaboration with our traffic safety partners to make crash data accessible to the public through the Open Data Portal,” said Kimberly Chesser, director of the Delaware Office of Highway Safety. “The portal is another great tool that is vital to the Office of Highway Safety’s mission of identifying and addressing traffic safety priorities. Additionally, the portal will enhance our partnerships with community organizations, businesses and sub-grantee participants who share our mission in traffic safety.”
