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The Collection of Road Accident Statistics
The Road Accident statistics are compiled from returns made by police forces. For each injury road accident known to have occurred in their areas, the police authorities complete a statistical return (which is called a "Stats 19" return), which provides details of the accident circumstances, separate information for each vehicle which was involved in the accident, and separate information for each person who was injured in the accident. Annex C shows the kinds of information that were collected in the statistical returns in 1998, using examples of forms that could have been used for this purpose. (In practice, each police force uses its own system, often involving the information being keyed into the computer by the officer, or by the clerical staff whom the officer telephones to report the accident, rather than the use of paper forms.) Annex C does not show the information which was collected with effect from 1999, following the implementation of the changes to the Road Accident Statistics system that were recommended in a Quinquennial Review.
The statistical returns cover all accidents in which a vehicle is involved that occur on roads (including footways) and result in death or personal injury, if they become known to the police. It should be noted that the vehicle need not be moving, and need not be in collision - for example, the returns include accidents involving people alighting from buses. Road accidents in which no-one is injured ("damage only" accidents) are not included in this definition, and the Scottish Executive does not receive statistics of such accidents. This publication therefore cannot give any figures for "damage only" accidents.
Full guidance on the completion of the "Stats 19" statistical returns, including detailed notes and definitions of the coverage of the returns and of the information to be provided in each field, is given in a document produced by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), called "Instructions for the Completion of Road Accident Reports" (which is also referred to as the "Stats 20").
The returns for accidents in Scotland are submitted every month by the police authorities, either directly or with the assistance of a local Council, to the Scottish Executive. All the returns should first be subject to the validity and consistency checks specified in a document called "Procedures for Submitting Road Accident Data to The Scottish Office" (as the Scottish Executive was formerly known). This document is also referred to as the Scottish Edition of "Stats 21". The Scottish Executive also applies these checks, and clears any errors that it finds with the Police authorities. The returns are added to the Scottish Executive Transport Statistics branch’s database, which contains statistical information about all injury road accidents in Scotland since 1979.
The Transport Statistics branch’s records for accidents which occurred on Motorways and A roads are copied to the Network Management and Maintenance Division of the Scottish Executive, which maintains a database of information about trunk roads. From all the Motorway and A road accidents, the ones which occurred on trunk roads are identified using their grid references, and the information about them is put onto the Network Management and Maintenance Division database. The Transport Statistics branch is subsequently informed which of these accidents occurred on trunk roads, and its database is updated accordingly.
Similar returns are made throughout Great Britain. The Scottish Executive sends a copy of the Scottish data to DETR, which holds a database of accident records which covers the whole of Great Britain.
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