The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently awarded the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) a $2.69 million State Electronic Data Collection program grant.
The program fulfills a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law directive that required the NHTSA award states grants to upgrade and standardize state crash data systems for the purpose of enabling electronic data transfers. KDOT will use its grant to upgrade its crash data collection systems.
“Accurate, timely data is essential for developing strategies to reduce crashes and the severity of injuries,” Gov. Laura Kelly said. “This funding will modernize the crash data collection process by equipping decision-makers in local communities with better tools to guide transportation planning across Kansas.”
KDOT will rebuild its Kansas Crash Data System and integrate it with local systems statewide. The system currently receives electronic reports from the Kansas Highway Patrol’s Kansas Law Enforcement Reporting System but, because the system is incompatible with many local law enforcement agencies’, nearly 50 percent of crash data must be entered manually.
“KDOT will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to improve the statewide crash data repository,” Transportation Secretary Calvin Reed said. “Ultimately, this initiative will streamline our current processes, improve data accuracy, and provide quicker access to actionable information.”