Coded crash reports from the Crash Analysis System (CAS)

Interpretation guide

Version 3.0

Print version: Coded crash reports from the Crash Analysis System (PDF, 821 KB)

Introduction

The national traffic crash database is administered by Land Transport New Zealand (Land Transport NZ). The database currently holds records of New Zealand Police reported traffic crashes dating back to 1980.

Access to the information in the database is by means of the Crash Analysis System (CAS), which superseded the Accident Investigation System software, and is made available to Land Transport NZ, road controlling authorities, traffic engineering consultants, New Zealand Police and other road safety partners.

Traffic crash data is entered directly into CAS as it arrives from the New Zealand Police. In this way the CAS database provides safety information for both day to day operation and long-term strategic planning to a variety of organisations. To assist them in this work, Land Transport NZ regional engineering staff and Ministry of Transport staff from the Head Office Research and Statistics section can provide output from database queries in a range of reports and tables. However, external clients are regularly using the databases directly.

This document has been produced to assist both the casual and experienced user to interpret coded crash reports from the CAS programme with confidence.

Key to crash listing

CAS listing

A standard coded listing example:

Listing interpretation

1. Key (optional)

The key provides a sequential number for each crash in the listing, or within each site if the data is grouped into sites. The key is not unique to the crash and may refer to a different crash if the listing is sorted differently.

2. Site centre (optional)

Where the crashes have been grouped into sites, this variable provides the site centroid (the centre of the site radius). This is in terms of the New Zealand map grid. The values are given as an easting and northing to the nearest metre.

3. First street

This is the name of street, road or state highway on which the crash occurred. It is written in full, except for 'street', which is shortened, to 'ST'. For long road names there may be some further truncating (especially for hyphenated road names) down to 25 characters.

eg Masterton-Castlepoint Road = MASTERTON-CASTLEPOINT ROA or MASTERTON-CASTLEPOINT RD

If the first street is a state highway, it is given as a number made up of three sections which represent the route position (RP), eg 2/451/2.342. This can be broken down as SH 2, reference station (RS) 451, 2.342 km from RS451 in the direction the highway runs.

In sections of road that run through an urban area or city, the state highway can additionally (but not always) have the urban street name included. eg 2/661/9.983 Karamu.

Note: Reports can be produced with 'simple route positions' which only list the state highway number, omitting the rest of the route position (eg SH 2). This is also the case if the route position is not known, ie if the crash has not been assigned map coordinates within the database (called geocoding).

A sub-state highway is a small length of road that extends or branches off another state highway. In these cases the state highway could be defined as SH 20A.

Where crashes do not occur on a road, abbreviations are often used to identify common locations (eg FCT = service station forecourt, CPK = car park, BCH = beach. DWY or DWAY = driveway, ABT = abutment).

Note: In general, off-road crashes are identified by the prefix 'Z' eg Z FCT Shell.

4. Distance and direction (DIR)

The distance given is in metres from the 'second street or landmark' (see 5 below) along the road to the crash site, eg 50 means 50 metres, 1,500 means 1.5 km.

Note: The distance should be considered approximate as it can reflect where the crash vehicle/s stopped moving rather than where the crash started, and in rural areas there can be large distances between the crash location and a second street or landmark.

Direction is indicated by a one letter code as follows:

N = north
S = south
E = east
W = west
I = at intersection with
A = at landmark

5. Second street or landmark

A crash is located from a second street or landmark. The second street must be a side street that intersects the first road. A landmark is used where there is no nearby second street and is usually a prominent and permanent feature that is likely to be on a map: eg bridge (BR), summit (SUM), overbridge (OBR).

Note: When the side road is a state highway only the state highway number is given, eg SH 2.

6. Crash number

The crash number is a five digit reference number assigned to each crash by Land Transport NZ.

The crash year (year in which the crash occurred) precedes the crash number (YYNNNNN), ie for 1998 crashes the prefix is 98NNNNN.

Note: The following convention has been adopted for crashes occurring after 1999:

2000 identified by prefix 20
2001 identified by prefix 21
2002 identified by prefix 22 etc.

Crash numbers can also indicate the severity of the crash, and a rough location guide, as described below:

Crash number	Crash severity	Location
00001-00999	fatal crashes	northern zone
10000-10999	fatal crashes	central zone
20000-20999	fatal crashes	southern zone
01000-09999	injury crashes	northern zone
11000-19999	injury crashes	central zone
21000-29999	injury crashes	southern zone
30000-49999	non-injury crashes	northern zone
50000-69999	non-injury crashes	central zone
70000-89999	non-injury crashes	southern zone

The northern zone is served by the Auckland and Hamilton Land Transport NZ regional offices and covers the north of the North Island down to a line of the southern boundaries of the Opotiki, Whakatane, Taupo and Waitomo Districts.

The central zone covers the remainder of the North Island and the top of the South Island (Kaikoura, Marlborough and Tasman Districts and Nelson City). Land Transport NZ regional offices in Palmerston North, Napier and Wellington serve this zone.

The southern zone is the remainder of the South Island, and is served by the Christchurch and Dunedin Land Transport NZ regional offices.

7. Date and day

Crash date format is DD/MM/YYYY (day/month/year). Day format is DDD (eg Mon = Monday)

8. Time

The 24-hour clock is used for the time of day.

9. Movement code (MVMT)

The vehicle movement code is a two-letter description of the principal movements of the vehicle or vehicles involved in the crash. The codes available are detailed in the vehicle movement coding sheet (see Appendix 1), where the first letter is the row and the second letter is the column, eg BC describes a head-on (row B), swinging wide (column C) type of movement.

10. Key vehicle or road user (V1)

The key vehicle or road user (V1), which has role 1, is the vehicle or road user travelling in the direction defined by the darker (bold) arrow of the diagram on the movement coding sheet. Therefore, the role number defines how that vehicle or road user was moving (or, in crashes involving more than two vehicles or road users, the order in which they became involved).

Note: The role does not necessarily indicate fault.

The following codes are used to represent different vehicle or road user types:

C     =    car	T     =    truck
V    =    van or ute	M    =    motorcycle
X    =    taxi or taxi van	P    =    moped
B    =    bus	S    =    bicycle
Q    =    equestrian	4    =    SUV or 4x4
L    =    school bus	O    =    other vehicle or unknown
K    =    skateboard, in-line skater, etc	H    =    wheelchair, power chair, mobility scooter, etc

11. Movement direction key (DRN)

In order to determine the direction a vehicle was travelling and which road it was travelling on, a directional key and number are given. The letter indicates the direction of travel and the number indicates the road the key vehicle was travelling on.

Thus for the following cases, the key vehicle was travelling:

N1 = north on first street	N2 = north on second street
S1 = south on first street	S2 = south on second street
E1 = east on first street	E2 = east on second street
W1 = west on first street	W2 = west on second street

12. Other vehicle/s or road users (V2, V3, V4 etc)

The codes are same as those for V1 above plus the following additional code letters for non-motorised vehicles or road users.

E = pedestrian

O = other road user or unknown

13. Factors and roles

The factor codes are a set of approximately 400 three-digit numbers which are grouped into categories found to be the most common factors in crashes (see Appendix 2 for a full list of factor codes). These factors are determined from the written explanation of what happened in the drivers' statements and the Police descriptions.

As well as describing driver and vehicle-related factors, there are also codes for non-vehicular aspects of a crash such as the road environment. These environmental factor codes are shown on the right-hand side of the column (numbered 800 onwards).

A letter after the factor code indicates the vehicle or driver to which that factor applies.

'A' applies to V1, 'B' applies to V2, etc. eg 301B - driver of vehicle 2 failed to give way at a Stop sign.

Note: Driver and vehicle factor codes are not added to non-injury crashes in the northern zone (see 6 above for a description of this zone) due to the high volume of these incidents.

14. Objects struck

During a crash the vehicle/s involved may strike objects either in the roadway or on the roadside. Since the same vehicle might not have struck all the objects involved, each vehicle is assigned to the object it hits, but this is not shown on the listing.

The coded crash listings show only the first two objects struck. The same object type can appear twice if it has been struck by different vehicles.

Note: If one vehicle strikes the same object type more than once (ie two parked cars) then only the first is coded.

The following is a guide to the different object type codes:

A    =    driven or accompanied animals, ie under control

B    =    bridge abutment, handrail or approach, includes tunnels

C    =    upright cliff or bank, retaining walls

D    =    debris, boulder or object dropped from vehicle

E    =    over edge of bank

F    =    fence, letterbox, hoarding etc.

G    =    guard or guide rail (including median barriers)

H    =    house or building

I    =    traffic island or median strip

J    =    public furniture, eg phone boxes, bus shelters, signal controllers, etc

K    =    kerb, when directly contributing to incident

L    =    landslide, washout or floodwater

M    =    parked motor vehicle

N    =    train

P    =    utility pole, includes lighting columns

Q    =    broken down vehicle, workmen’s vehicle, taxis picking up, etc

R    =    roadwork signs or drums, holes and excavations, etc

S    =    traffic signs or signal bollards

T    =    trees, shrubbery of a substantial nature

V    =    ditch

W    =    wild animal, stray or out of control animals

X    =    other

Y    =    objects thrown at or dropped onto vehicles

Z    =    into water, river or sea

15. Curve

This is the degree of horizontal curvature of the road at the crash location as estimated by the reporting police officer. The following codes are used:

R    =    straight road

E    =    easy curve

M    =    moderate curve

S    =    severe curve

16. Wetness (WETNES)

Shows the wetness of the road surface at the time of the crash, if recorded, as follows:

W    =    wet

D    =    dry

I    =    ice or snow

17. Light

The light conditions at the time of the crash are described by a one or two-letter code where the first letter refers to natural light, and the second to artificial light.

Note: The second letter is only used if the crash occurred in dark or twilight conditions.

Natural light conditions (first letter):

B    =    bright sun

O    =    overcast

T    =    twilight

D    =    dark

If the natural light conditions are T or D, the artificial lighting (second letter) is:

O    =    street lights on

F    =    street lights off

N    =    no street lights present

18. Weather (WETHER)

The weather conditions are described as follows:

F    =    fine

M    =    mist/fog

L    =    light rain

H    =    heavy rain

S    =    snow

There is also an optional second letter available for extreme weather conditions:

F         =         frost

S         =         strong wind

eg, FF = fine and frosty, HS = heavy rain and strong wind.

19. Junction (JUNCT)

A junction code can be used when the crash is within 30 metres of an intersection, but is only essential if the crash occurs up to 10 metres from an intersection.

D    =    driveway (entrance to a public or private property which is not a road)

R    =    roundabout

X    =    crossroads

T    =    t junction

Y    =    y junction

M    =    multi-leg (more than four legs entering or leaving the intersection)

Note: When one of the vehicles involved is attempting to enter or leave a driveway at an intersection location, the driveway code takes precedence.

20. Control (CONTRL)

If controls are present at the location of the crash and they are recorded, they are listed as follows:

T    =    traffic signals

S    =    stop sign

G    =    give way sign

P    =    school patrol or warden

N    =    nil

Note: The control may not necessarily apply to the vehicle/s involved in the crash but should be related to the junction. Priority control (S or G) may also be shown at junctions that are known to be signalised (eg free or give way controlled left turns).

21. Markings (MARKS)

The following codes are used to indicate what road markings were present at the crash location if recorded:

X    =    pedestrian crossing

R    =    raised island

P    =    painted island

L    =    no passing line

C    =    centre line

N    =    nil

22. Speed limit (SPDLMT)

The posted speed limit at the crash location is recorded in kilometres per hour. The following codes can also be used:

U        =    unknown

LSZ    =    limited speed zone

23.  Total injuries (TOTAL INJ)

There are three columns in this section listing the number of crash casualties, separated into the following categories:

FAT    =    fatal injuries (where death occurs within 30 days as a result of the crash)

SER    =    serious injuries, includes broken bones, concussion etc

MIN    =    minor injuries, includes cuts, sprains, bruises etc

Note: This section is left blank for non-injury crashes

24. Pedestrian age (PEDage)

Age of any pedestrian injured. If more than one pedestrian is injured, the age of the youngest pedestrian below 20 years old is shown. Otherwise this shows the age of the oldest pedestrian.

25. Cyclist age (CYCage)

Age of any cyclist injured. If more than one cyclist is injured, the age of the youngest cyclist below 20 years old is shown. Otherwise this shows the age of the oldest cyclist.

26. Map co-ordinates (optional)

This shows the location of the crash in terms of the New Zealand map grid. The values are given as an easting and northing to the nearest metre.

If the easting and northing is unknown, it will be blank.

Contact details

If you have any questions or general inquiries regarding this document, please contact the road safety engineers at one of the following Land Transport NZ offices:

WHANGAREI PO Box 1664 Level 1 Post Office Building Cnr Rathbone and Robert Streets Phone  09 459 6315 Fax      09 459 6318	AUCKLAND Private Bag 106 602 Level 6 1 Queen Street Phone  09 969 9800 Fax      09 969 9813
HAMILTON Private Bag 3081 183 Collingwood Street Phone  07 958 7840 Fax      07 958 7866	NAPIER PO Box 972 Level 3, Housing Corporation Building 215 Hastings Street Phone  06 974 5520 Fax      06 974 5529
PALMERSTON NORTH PO Box 1947 Level 3, IRD Building Cnr Ashley and Ferguson Streets Phone  06 953 6296 Fax      06 953 6203	WELLINGTON PO Box 27 249 Level 5, Master Builders House 234 - 242 Wakefield Street Phone  04 931 8900 Fax      04 931 8929
CHRISTCHURCH PO Box 13 364 Level 5, BNZ House 129 Hereford Street Phone  03 964 2866 Fax      03 964 2855	DUNEDIN PO Box 5245 Level 1, AA Centre 450 Moray Place Phone  03 951 3009 Fax      03 951 3013

Appendix 1

Vehicle movement coding sheet

For use with crash data from CAS (Version 2.4 February 2005)

Appendix 2

Factors probably contributing to crashes
(Version 1.5 March 2005)

DRIVER CONTROL

100 Alcohol or drugs
    101 Alcohol suspected
    102 Alcohol test below limit
    103 Alcohol test above limit or test refused
    104 Alcohol test result unknown
    105 Visibly intoxicated non-driver (pedestrian / cyclist / passenger)
    106
    107
    108 Drugs suspected
    109 Drugs proven

110 Too fast for conditions
    111 Cornering
    112 On straight
    113 To give way at intersection
    114 Approaching railway crossing
    115 When passing stationary school bus
    116 At temporary speed limit
    117 At crash or emergency

120 Failed to keep left
    121 Swung wide on bend
    122 Swung wide at intersection
    123 Cutting corner on bend
    124 Cutting corner at intersection
    125 On straight section
    126 Vehicle crossed raised median
    127 Driving or riding abreast (cyclists more than 2 abreast)
    128 Wandering or wobbling
    129 Too far left / right

130 Lost control
    131 When turning
    132 Under heavy braking
    133 Under heavy acceleration
    134 While returning to seal from unsealed shoulder
    135 Due to road conditions (requires road series code)
    136 Due to vehicle fault (requires vehicle series code)
    137 Avoiding another vehicle, pedestrian, party or obstacle on roadway
    138 On unsealed road
    139 End of seal

140 Failed to signal in time
    141 When moving to left, pulling over to left
    142 When turning left
    143 When pulling out or moving to the right
    144 When turning right
    145 Incorrect Signal

150 Overtaking
    151 Overtaking line of traffic or queue
    152 Deliberately in the face of oncoming traffic
    153 Failed to notice oncoming traffic
    154 Misjudged speed or distance of oncoming traffic
    155 At no passing line
    156 With insufficient visibility
    157 At an intersection without due care
    158 On left without due care
    159 Cut in after overtaking
    160 Vehicle signalling right turn
    161 Without care at a pedestrian crossing

170 Wrong lane or turned from wrong position
    171 Turned right from incorrect lane
    172 Turned left from incorrect lane
    173 Travelled straight ahead from turning lane or flush median
    174 Turned right from left side of road
    175 Turned left from near centre line
    176 Turned into incorrect lane
    177 Weaving or cut in on multi-lane roads
    178 Moved left to avoid slow vehicle

180 In line of traffic
    181 Following too closely
    182 Travelling unreasonably slowly
    183 Motorist crowded cyclist

190 Sudden action
    191 Braked
    192 Turned left
    193 Turned right
    194 Swerved to avoid pedestrian
    195 Swerved to avoid animal
    196 Swerved to avoid crash or broken down vehicle
    197 Swerved to avoid vehicle
    198 Swerved to avoid object or for unknown reason

200 Forbidden movements
    201 Wrong way in one way street, motorway or roundabout
    202 When turning or U turning contrary to a sign
    203 Contrary to “in” or “out” only driveway sign
    204 Driving or riding on footpath
    205 On incorrect side of island or median
    206 Contrary to “no entry” sign
    207 In Car Park
    208 Motor vehicle in cycle lane
    209 Bus / Transit lane

VEHICLE CONFLICTS

300 Failed to give way
    301 At Stop sign
    302 At Give Way sign
    303 When turning to non-turning traffic
    304 When deemed turning by markings, not geometry
    305 When turning left, to opposing right turning traffic
    306 To pedestrian on a crossing
    307 When turning at signals to pedestrians
    308 When entering roadway from driveway
    309 To traffic approaching or crossing from the right
    310 Failed to give way at one lane bridge / road
    311 Failed to give way to pedestrian on footpath or verge
    312 Entering roadway not from driveway or intersection
    313 To emergency vehicle

320 Did not stop
    321 At stop sign
    322 At steady red light
    323 At steady red arrow
    324 At steady amber light
    325 At steady amber arrow
    326 At flashing red lights (Rail Xing, Fire Stn etc)
    327 For police or flag-person
    328 For school patrol / kea crossing

330 Inattentive: failed to notice
    331 Car slowing, stopping or stopped in front
    332 Bend in road
    333 Indication of vehicle in front
    334 Traffic lights
    335 Intersection or its Stop / Give Way control
    336 Other regulatory sign / markings
    337 Warning sign
    338 Direction, information signs / markings
    339 Road-works signs
    340 Lane use arrows / markings?
    341 Obstructions on Roadway

350 Attention diverted by:
    351 Passengers
    352 Scenery or persons outside vehicle
    353 Other traffic
    354 Animal or insect in vehicle
    355 Trying to find intersection, house number, destination
    356 Advertising or signs
    357 Emotionally upset
    358 Cigarette, radio, glove box etc
    359 Cell phone or communications device
    360 Driver dazzled

370 Did not see or look for another party until too late
    371 Behind when reversing / manoeuvring
    372 Behind when changing lanes position or direction (includes U-turns)
    373 Behind when pulling out from parked position
    374 Behind when opening door or leaving vehicle
    375 When required to give way to traffic from another direction
    376 When required to give way to pedestrians.
    377 When visibility obstructed by other vehicles
    378 When visibility limited by roadside features
    379 When first in queue on receiving green light

380 Misjudged speed, distance, size or position of:
    381 Other vehicle coming from behind or alongside
    382 Other vehicle coming from another direction with right of way
    383 Pedestrian movement or intention
    384 Towed vehicle, or while towing a vehicle
    385 Size or position of fixed object or obstacle
    386 Of own vehicle
    387 Misjudged intentions of another party

GENERAL DRIVER

400 Inexperience
    401 In driving in fast, complex or heavy traffic
    402 New driver showed inexperience
    403 Driving strange vehicle
    404 Overseas driver fails to adjust to local conditions
    405 Driver under instruction
    406 At towing trailer / other vehicle
    407 Driver over-reacted
    408 Unsupervised cyclist

410 Fatigue (drowsy, tired, fell asleep)
    411 Long trip
    412 Lack of sleep
    413 Exhaust fumes
    414 Worked long hours before driving
    415 Exceeded driving hours

420 Incorrect use of vehicle controls
    421 Started in gear
    422 Stalled engine
    423 Wrong pedal
    424 Footrest, stand
    425 Ignition turned off (steering locked)
    426 Lights not switched on
    427 Foot slipped
    428 Parking brake not fully applied
    429 Trailer coupling or safety chain not secured

430 Showing off
    431 Racing
    432 Playing chicken
    433 Wheel spins / wheelies / doughnuts etc
    434 Intimidating driving

440 Parked or stopped
    441 Inadequately lit at night: (not lit by street lights or park lights off)
    442 At point of limited visibility
    43 Not as close as practicable to side of road
    444 On incorrect side of road
    445 Double parked
    446 In 'No Stopping' area
    447 Not clear of rail crossing
    448 In cycle or Transit lane

GENERAL PERSON

500 Illness and disability
    501 Illness with no warning e.g. heart attack, unexpected epilepsy)
    502 Physically disabled
    503 Defective vision
    504 Medical illness (not sudden) flu, diabetes
    505 Mental illness (depression, psychosis)
    506 Suicidal (but not successful)
    507 Impaired ability due to old age

510 Intentional or criminal
    511 Deliberate homicide (only if succeeded)
    512 Intentional collision
    513 Committed suicide (only if succeeded)
    514 Evading enforcement
    515 Object deliberately thrown at or dropped on vehicle / shot at
    516 Object thrown from vehicle
    517 Stolen vehicle

520 Driver or passenger, boarding, leaving , in vehicle
    521 Boarding moving vehicle
    522 Intentionally leaving moving vehicle
    523 Riding in insecure position
    524 Interfered with driver
    525 Opened door inadvertently
    526 Overloaded vehicle (with passengers)
    527 Child playing in parked vehicle

530 Miscellaneous person
    531 Casualty drowned
    532 Casualty thrown from vehicle
    533 Equestrian not keeping to verge
    534 Cyclist or M/cyclist wearing dark clothing

VEHICLES

600 Lights and reflectors at fault or dirty
    601 Dazzling headlights
    602 Headlights inadequate or no headlights
    603 Headlights failed suddenly
    604 Brake-lights or indicators faulty or not fitted
    605 Tail-lights inadequate or no tail-lights
    606 Reflectors inadequate or no reflectors
    607 Lights or reflectors obscured

610 Brakes
    611 Parking brake failed
    612 Parking brake defective
    613 Service brake failed
    614 Service brake defective
    615 Jack-knifed

620 Steering
    621 Defective
    622 Failed suddenly

630 Tyres
    631 Puncture or blowout
    632 Worn tread on tyre
    633 Incorrect tyre type
    634 Mixed treads / space savers

640 Windscreen or mirror
    641 Shattered windscreen
    642 Windscreen or rear window dirty
    643 Rear vision mirror not adjusted correctly
    644 No rear vision mirror
    645 Windscreen or rear window misted/frosted
    646 Inadequate or no sun-visors
    647 Inadequate or no windscreen wipers
    648 Cycle / Motorcycle visor, glasses, goggles or screen

650 Mechanical
    651 Engine failure
    652 Transmission failure (including chains and gears)
    653 Accelerator or throttle jammed

660 Body or chassis
    661 Body, chassis or frame (cycle, m/c) failure
    662 Suspension failure
    663 Failure of door catch or door not shut
    664 Inadequate mudguards
    665 Inadequate tow coupling
    666 Inadequate or no safety chain
    667 Bonnet catch failed
    668 Wheel off
    669 Broken axle
    670 Inconspicuous colour
    671 Blind spot
    672 Seat belt / restraint failed
    673 Air-bag failed to inflate (fully)

680 Load
    681 Load interferes with driver
    682 Not well secured or load moved
    683 Over-hanging
    684 Load obscured vision
    685 Excess dimensions not adequately indicated
    686 Over dimension vehicle or load
    687 Load too heavy
    688 Towed vehicle or trailer too heavy or incompatible

690 Miscellaneous vehicle
    691 Emergency Vehicle attending emergency
    692 Vehicle caught fire
    693 Being towed
    694 Air-bag contributed to crash or injury
    695 Seatbelt / restraint absent or unusable
    696 Dangerous goods

PEDESTRIANS

700 Walking along road
    701 Not keeping to footpath
    702 Not keeping to side of road
    703 Not facing oncoming traffic
    704 Not on outside of blind curve
    705 Wheeled ped inconsiderate or dangerous on footpath

710 Crossing road
    711 Walking heedless of traffic
    712 Stepping out from behind vehicles
    713 Running heedless of traffic
    714 Failed to use pedestrian crossing when one within 20 metres
    715 Waiting on roadway for moving traffic
    716 Confused by traffic or stepped back
    717 Suddenly stepped onto pedestrian crossing
    718 Not complying with traffic signals or school patrols
    719 Misjudged speed and / or distance of vehicle

720 Miscellaneous
    721 Pushing, working on or unloading vehicle
    722 Playing on road or unnecessarily on road
    723 Working on road
    724 Wearing dark clothing
    725 Vision obscured by umbrella or clothing
    726 Child escaped from supervision
    727 Unsupervised child
    728 Sitting / lying on road
    729 Pedestrian from school bus
    730 Pedestrian behind reversing / manoeuvring vehicle
    731 Overseas pedestrian

ROAD

800 Slippery
    801 Rain
    802 Frost or ice
    803 Snow or hail
    804 Loose material on seal
    805 Mud
    806 Oil / Diesel / Fuel
    807 Painted markings
    808 Recently graded
    809 Surface bleeding / defective

810 Surface
    811 Potholed
    812 Uneven
    813 Deep loose metal
    814 High crown
    815 Curve not well banked
    816 Edge badly defined or gave way
    817 Under construction or maintenance
    818 Unusually narrow
    819 Broken glass

820 Obstructed
    821 Fallen tree or branch
    822 Slip or subsidence
    823 Flood waters, large puddles, ford
    824 Road works not adequately lighted
    825 Road works not adequately signposted
    826 Roadside object fell on vehicle
    827 Object flicked up by vehicle

830 Visibility limited
    831 Curve
    832 Crest
    833 Building
    834 Trees
    835 Hedge or fence
    836 Scrub or long grass
    837 Bank
    838 Temporary obstruction, dust or smoke
    839 Parked vehicle

840 Signs and signals
    841 Damaged, removed or malfunction
    842 Badly located
    843 Ineffective or inadequate
    844 Necessary
    845 Signals turned off

850 Markings
    851 Faded
    852 Difficult to see under weather conditions
    853 Markings necessary
    854 Not visible due to geometry or vehicles
    855 Old markings not adequately removed

860 Street lighting
    861 Failed
    862 Inadequate
    863 Glare on wet road
    864 Pedestrian crossing not adequately lighted

870 Raised islands and roundabouts
    871 Traffic island(s) difficult to see
    872 Traffic island(s) Ineffective, badly located or designed
    873 Cyclist squeeze point

MISCELLANEOUS

900 Weather
    901 Heavy rain
    902 Dazzling sun
    903 Strong wind
    904 Fog or mist
    905 Snow, sleet or hail

910 Animals
    911 Household pet rushed out or playing
    912 Farm animal straying
    913 Farm animal attended, but inadequate warning or unexpected
    914 Farm animal attended, but out of control
    915 Wild animal

920 Entering or leaving land use
    921 Roadside stall
    922 Service station
    923 Specialised liquor outlet
    924 Take away foods
    925 Shopping complex
    926 Car parking building / area
    927 Other commercial
    928 Industrial site
    929 Private house / farm
    930 Other non-commercial
    931 Mobile shop or vendor

999 Unknown

Appendix 3

Summary guide to coded crash reports

1.      Key (optional)

The key provides a sequential number for each crash in the listing, or within each site if the data is grouped into sites.

2.      Site centre (optional)

Where the crashes have been grouped into sites, this variable provides the site centroid (the centre of the site radius).

3.      First street

Name (or RP) of street, road or state highway on which the crash occurred.

4.      Distance and direction (DIR)

The distance is given in metres from the second street or landmark (see 5 below) along the road to the crash site.

N = north            W = west             I = at intersection with
S = south            E = east              A = at landmark

5.      Second street or landmark

A crash is located from a second street or landmark. A landmark is used where there is no nearby second street and is usually a prominent feature that is likely to be on a map, eg bridge (BR), summit (SUM), overbridge (OBR), abutment (ABT).

6.      Crash number (LTSA reference number of crash)

Number format is YYNNNNN (YY is 2001=21, 2002=22 etc, NNNNN as below).

00001-00999     fatal crashes northern zone
10000-10999     fatal crashes central zone
20000-20999     fatal crashes southern zone

01000-09999     injury crashes northern zone
11000-19999     injury crashes central zone
21000-29999     injury crashes southern zone

30000-49999     non-injury northern zone
50000-69999     non-injury central zone
70000-89999     non-injury southern zone

7.      Date, day of crash

Date format is DD/MM/YYYY – day/month/year. Day format is DDD.

8.      Time of day

The 24-hour clock is used for the time of day.

9.      Movement code (see Appendix 1)

10.    Key vehicle or road user (VI)

The key vehicle or road user (V1) is the vehicle or road user shown in heavier type on the movement coding sheet. Being a key vehicle or road user does not automatically indicate fault.

C = car                                                      T = truck
V = van or ute                                           M = Motorcycle
X = taxi or taxi van                                     P = Moped
B = bus                                                     S = bicycle
Q = equestrian                                           4 = SUV or 4x4
L = school bus                                           O = Other or unknown
K = skateboard, in-line skater, etc               H = wheelchair, power chair, mobility scooter, etc

11.   Movement direction key (DRN)

The letter indicates the direction of travel and the number indicates the road the key vehicle was travelling on.

N1 = north on first street S1 = south on first street E1 = east on first street W1 = west on first street

N2 = north on second street S2 = south on second street E2 = east on second street W2 = west on second street

12.   Other vehicle/s or road users (V2, V3, V4 etc)

The codes are same as those for V1 plus the following additional code letters for non-motorised road users:

E = pedestrian             O = other or unknown

13.   Factors and roles (see Appendix 2 for current factor codes)

A letter after the factor code indicates vehicle or driver to which that factor applies. ‘A’ applies to V1; ‘B’ applies to V2, etc.

14.   Objects struck

A   =   driven or accompanied animals, ie under control
B   =   bridge abutment, handrail or approach, includes tunnels
C   =   upright cliff or bank, retaining walls
D   =   debris, boulder or object dropped from vehicle
E   =   over edge of bank
F   =   fence, letterbox, hoarding etc
G   =   guard or guide rail (including median barriers)
H   =   house or building
I   =   traffic island or median
J   =   public furniture, eg phone boxes, bus shelters
K   =   kerb, when directly contributing to incident
L   =   landslide, washout or floodwater
M  =   parked motor vehicle
N   =   train
P   =   utility pole
Q   =   broken down, workmen’s vehicle, taxis picking up, etc
R   =   roadwork signs or drums, holes and excavations, etc
S   =   traffic signs or signal bollards
T   =   trees, shrubbery of a substantial nature
V   =   ditch
W  =   wild animal, stray, or out of control animals
X   =   other
Y   =   objects thrown at or dropped onto vehicles
Z   =   into water, river or sea

15.   Curve (degree of curvature of the road at the crash location)

R   =   straight road        E  =  easy curve
M  =   moderate curve    S  =  severe curve

16.   Wetness (of road surface)

W = wet       D = dry       I = ice or snow

17.   Light

Natural light conditions: B  =  bright sun O  =  overcast T  =  twilight D  =  dark

If Natural light conditions are T or D, the second letter means: O  =street lights on F  =street light off N  =no street lights U  =unknown

18.   Weather

F = fine M = mist or fog L = light rain H = heavy rain S = snow

Second letter of weather code (optional): F = frost S = strong wind

19.   Junction

D = driveway R = roundabout X = crossroads

T = t junction Y = y junction M = multi-leg

20.   Control

T = traffic signals S = stop sign G = give way sign

P = school patrol or warden N = nil

21.   Markings

X =    ped crossing R =    raised island P =    painted island

L =    no passing line C =    centre line N =    nil

22.   Speed limit

Speed is given in kilometres per hour, or the following codes:

U = unknown           LSZ = limited speed zone

23.   Injuries

This shows the number and classifications of injuries resulting from the crash.

FAT = fatal injuries                   SER = serious injuries
MIN =   minor injuries

Note: If blank, then list as a non-injury crash.

24.   Pedestrian age

Age of pedestrian injured. If more than one pedestrian is injured, the age of the youngest pedestrian below 20 is shown. Otherwise this shows the age of the eldest pedestrian.

25.   Cyclist age

Age of cyclist injured. If more than one cyclist is injured, the age of the youngest cyclist below 20 is shown. Otherwise this shows the age of the eldest cyclist.

26.   Map co-ordinates

The location of the crash in terms of the New Zealand map grid.

Page created: 15 September 2005