Amid 15-Year High in Traffic Fatalities, LexisNexis Coplogic Solutions Introduces Data Sophistication Model to Help Law Enforcement Save More Lives on U.S. Roadways

11/8/2021

ATLANTA — LexisNexis® Coplogic™ Solutions is highlighting the importance of data sophistication in helping law enforcement agencies save lives on U.S. roadways. Data sophistication refers to the level of automation of unstructured data collection. Agencies with more automation can more easily move from a reactive to a preventive approach to traffic safety. Coplogic Solutions offers agencies access to more accurate, complete and timely crash data that can be used to generate actionable insights, leading to traffic safety improvements.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released findings showing that traffic fatalities are at a 15-year high, despite reduced traffic during 2020, a trend that continued through the first half of 2021.^1,2 Law enforcement agencies play a critical role in saving lives on U.S. roadways. However, lack of data and analytics that show when, where and why traffic accidents are occurring can create a challenge in effectively addressing dangerous or high-risk traffic patterns. With the appropriate level of data sophistication, agencies can plan proactively for future traffic accidents and take steps to mitigate the risks to save more lives.

In a recent LexisNexis Risk Solutions market research survey of more than 400 law enforcement decision-makers from state and local agencies of various sizes, command staff reported:

• Reducing traffic fatalities to zero is among their top 5 priorities (60%).
• Their agency is currently operating at a low data sophistication level of a 1 or 2 with access to limited data and analytics, a reactive approach (49%).
• Advanced data sophistication is either a basic requirement (36%) or an industry advantage (34%) in order to stay current with their community needs.
• They expect their agency to advance within 2-3 years to a high data sophistication level of a 4 or 5 with access to real-time, comprehensive data, analytics and visualizations, providing them with a preventive approach through automated decisioning (72%).

“As part of the ‘Vision Zero’ goal, law enforcement agencies across the country are striving to eliminate all traffic fatalities. This preventive approach to traffic and vehicle safety can be developed through a number of factors, including the adoption of more advanced data and analytics programs,” said Jason LaRue, associate vice president, LexisNexis Coplogic Solutions. “For example, if a certain intersection is the site of frequent accidents, the agency can work with the city to install crosswalks, traffic lights or other remedies to help reduce future accidents in that area. With these types of data analytics insights, agencies can allocate resources where they’re needed most and have a dialogue with the community about their plans, and the data driving them.”

Law enforcement agencies across the country vary in levels of data sophistication. Many are still paper-based in their approach to crash reporting. Some existing electronic processes aren’t able to access dynamic crash analytics in real-time and in a way that enables advanced data visualization to pinpoint traffic safety issues and hotspots for the implementation of proactive measures.

In addition, transparency and communication between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve has become more important than ever. Data sophistication allows agencies to stay connected to their communities with timely communication of meaningful, accurate statistics, easily generated reports that help support local and state traffic safety initiatives, and analytics to support action plans. Sharing these results allows law enforcement agencies to include the community in their ‘behind the scenes’ decision-making, illustrating how a decision was made and how the agency addresses issues.

“Data sophistication can help remove burdensome, outdated processes and barriers to accurate data that distract from overall mission-readiness. It also enables improved traffic safety and community relationships,” said LaRue.

LexisNexis Coplogic Solutions assists in the data sophistication process by delivering advanced, actionable data and analytics, including relevant data points from accidents, events and rush hour traffic statistics. Tools such as the LexisNexis® Crash Mapper and Dashboards, included with the LexisNexis® BuyCrash and the LexisNexis® eCrash solutions, allow law enforcement to link command staff and the traffic division to digitized crash reports, assisting automated, data-driven decisioning propelled by speed, efficiency and accuracy.

By advancing data sophistication, agencies can: 

• Build at-a-glance views of mission-critical crash statistics, including crash counts from several categories.
• Switch from street views, satellite views, heat maps and points overlay.
• Pinpoint where, when and why accidents happen, and intelligently deploy patrols based on peak or recurring activity.
• Provide targeted, near real-time data for neighborhood meetings and command staff reviews.
• Fast-track reporting in the field with a cloud-based mobile app.
• Highlight accident and traffic trends by cause, age and other factors.
• Understand the root causes of different incidents, including distracted driving and other types of violations.

Agencies can schedule a complimentary consultation with a LexisNexis Coplogic Solutions representative to help them develop a data sophistication strategy to help them save more lives in their community.

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions
LexisNexis^® Risk Solutions harnesses the power of data, sophisticated analytics platforms and technology solutions to provide insights that help businesses across multiple industries and governmental entities reduce risk and improve decisions to benefit people around the globe. Headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, we have offices throughout the world and are part of RELX (LSE: REL/NYSE: RELX), a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, please visit LexisNexis Risk Solutions and RELX.