Traffic safety data are critical to a wide range of highway transportation activities, both within and outside the State Highway Administration (SHA), aimed at enhancing highway traffic safety. Most important among the various types of traffic safety data are accident, or crash, data.

Crash data are an essential component in identifying and defining traffic safety problems, developing countermeasures to alleviate those problems, guiding the implementation of those measures, and evaluating their effectiveness.

When properly understood, analyzed and used, crash data are a powerful asset to any highway safety program. On the other hand and for obvious reasons, when misunderstood, misinterpreted, and/or misapplied, it can lead to incorrect decisions and actions that fail to alleviate, and sometimes can exacerbate, serious traffic safety problems.

All crashes resulting in a vehicle being towed away, personal injury, or fatality are reported. The state, county, or local law enforcement officer who first arrives at the scene of a reportable accident records the crash data. The accident report (MSP Form 1 - 21MB PDF) is submitted to the Maryland State Police Central Records Division and the data are entered into the Maryland State Police database and then uploaded to the State Highway Administration Office of Traffic and Safety (OOTS) database.

OOTS’ Highway Safety Office (MHSO) generates and distributes general (non-location-specific) accident summary data. The Traffic Development and Support Division (TDSD), also within OOTS, analyzes the data with respect to specific locations.

Further analysis is provided by the University of Maryland National Study Center for Trauma and EMS through the CODES Project. The Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES) Project is an innovative means to access a set of State-based data systems created and maintained for outcome-based decision making related to improving traffic safety.

Please read the Available Data page for more specific information on the distribution of data.