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SCDPS - Preparing an Enforcement Plan in AASHTOWare Safety

This article outlines how South Carolina law enforcement can use AASHTOWare Safety tools to create an enforcement plan, support grant efforts, and visualize crash data.

Written by Lauren Miller

Crash Query

This section covers how to use the SCHP Troop Crash Summary - Template in Crash Query. Find more information on how to use Crash Query here.

Accessing the Crash Query Template

  1. Open Crash Query (https://scdot.aashtowaresafety.com/crash-query#/metrics)
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  2. Click the Home icon in the top-left side of the screen to access shared templates.
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    (The Home icon in Crash Query)
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  3. Find the “SCHP Troop Crash Summary - Template” query in the Templates category. Click to open it.
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    (The “SCHP Troop Crash Summary - Template”)
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  4. Click the Make a Copy icon in the top-right corner of the screen to make your own version of the template.
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    (The Make a Copy icon)
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  5. Name your query and save. To change the category, simply highlight the category text and type a new name to save
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    (The Make a Copy pop-up)
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  6. The date range in this template is automatically set to the most recent three full years of crash data. To adjust the date range, click the date extents in the top-right corner of the query.
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    (Editing the date range in Crash Query)

Analyzing the Data in Crash Query

Once a copy of the template has been saved, narrow the search criteria to explore the relevant data in your area.

  1. Using the top filter bar, type or scroll to find the SCHP Troops (Geo) filter.
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    (The SCHP Troops (Geo) filter)
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  2. Click the filter and select your Troop number. Click Apply to apply the filter.
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    (Apply the SCHP Troops (Geo) filter)
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  3. Once applied, filter the dataset to your SCHP Post by clicking to apply the filter from the Metrics Sidebar.
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    (Click to apply the SCHP Post metric as a filter)
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    The following metrics are available in the template:

  • Date and Time (Year)

    • Analyze crash trends over multiple years to identify crash patterns over time.

  • SCHP Post

    • Filter crashes to a specific post within a troop.

  • SCDOT SHSP Emphasis Area

    • View crashes grouped by South Carolina’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan to identify the most common crash types in your area.

  • Probable Cause

    • Identify contributing factors to crashes, such as speeding and failure to yield.

  • Vulnerable Roadway User Related

    • View crashes that involved a pedestrian or cyclist.

  • Unbelted

    • Review crashes that involved at least one unbelted occupant.

  • Date and Time (Hour of Day)

    • Identify peak hours for crashes.

  • Date and Time (Day of Week)

    • Review crash trends by day.

  • Holiday Periods

    • Filter crashes during recognized holiday periods to support seasonal enforcement campaigns.
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Investigate crashes in your area by reviewing the default metrics in the sidebar. Click any metric to apply it as a filter to your query, which can help identify trends and target enforcement efforts.

(Click a value under a metric to apply it as a filter)

  • To view jurisdictional boundaries, law enforcement can enable layers on the Crash Query map. The Layer Settings allow users to toggle map layers on or off, including boundaries (cities, counties, districts, etc.) and asset layers. Learn more about Layers here.
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    (The layer settings in Crash Query)
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    (The Crash Query map with city and county boundary layers displayed)
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  • Law enforcement can use the Crash Flyout to investigate individual crashes in greater detail. Clicking a crash dot or cluster in the map point view or the raw table displays the Crash Flyout, which provides an in-depth analysis of a specific crash, including a Google Street View of the crash location, crash, vehicle, and occupant level data.
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    (The Crash Flyout displayed for a cluster of crashes in South Carolina)

3D Crash Visualization

Another way to visualize crashes in Crash Query is by using the 3D map visualization tool. Once selected, a 3D visualization of the crash clusters within the current map view will appear. This can help law enforcement users better understand where crashes are concentrated along a roadway.

  1. To visualize crashes along a specific roadway, first select the roadway using the Line Tool.
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    (Click the Line Tool from the map toolbar to select the roadway)
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  2. Choose two points on the line to select the roadway. The exact mile point extents can be adjusted by typing new values into the filter bar.
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    (Select the roadway and adjust the mile point extents as needed)
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  3. Once selected, click the 3D View icon from the map toolbar. Note: Ensure the heat map & cluster map view is enabled.
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    (The 3D View icon on the Crash Query map)
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  4. Hover over the icons to view the total number of crashes per severity. A 3D map animation is available to play and download.
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    (The 3D map visualization along a selected route)
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    -Learn more about the Line Tool here.
    -Learn more about the 3D map visualization here.

Chart Builder in Crash Query

There are multiple pre-built charts in the SCHP Troops Crash Summary Template.

  • To view the charts in the template, click the Chart Builder tab in the sidebar.

(The Chart Builder tab in Crash Query)

  • The following charts are pre-built in the SCHP Troops Crash Summary Template:
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    • Yearly Crashes by Severity
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    • Crashes by Day of Week
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    • Crashes by Hour of Day

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    • Crashes by Age Groups
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    • Total Crashes by Probable Cause
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  • Click the download icon in the top right corner of the chart to download charts as images and pivot tables as Excel files.

(Download charts as .png files)

(Download pivot tables as an excel file)

Users can also build additional charts within their query. Learn more about the Crash Query Chart Builder here.

Reports in Crash Query

Within the SCHP Troops Crash Summary Template, users can download various PDF reports.

  • Downloadable PDF reports are also available in Crash Query. To download reports, click the download icon in the top right corner of the Crash Query screen.
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    (Crash Query report download options)
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  • The available Crash Query report types:

    • Crash Summary Report - Crash Summary Reports allow users to easily generate custom, shareable summaries of their custom query.

    • Before/After Report - Before/After reports allow users to easily generate custom reports comparing trends in key data points between two selected date ranges.

    • Overrepresentation Report - Over-representation reports enable users to compare a specific geographic region (such as a city, county, or district) with the larger geographic region (county, district, or state) in which it resides.

Network Screening

This article details how law enforcement in South Carolina can use Network Screening to prepare enforcement plans. Find more information on how to use Network Screening here.

The Network Screening applications are designed to help users rank and identify sites for further investigation and potential treatment across the entire roadway network. In AASHTOWare Safety, three network screening methods are available to users: Segments, Sliding Window, and Intersections. Each one is outlined below.
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Intersections

In Network Screening - Intersections, users can compare the performance of intersections in their network. In this application, only crashes occurring within the intersection boundary are included in the analysis.

South Carolina’s intersection definition can be found here.

Segments

In Network Screening - Segments, all roadways are segmented into smaller sections with similar characteristics, allowing users to compare similar roadways rather than evaluating an entire route. In this application, intersection crashes are removed from the analysis.

South Carolina’s roadway segmentation details can be found here.
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Sliding Window

In Network Screening - Sliding Window, users can compare roadways in their network within a window size of .1 to 10 miles. In this application, both roadway and intersection crashes are included in the analysis.
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Accessing Network Screening

  • Navigate to Network Screening using the application drop-down menu.
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    (The Network Screening applications in the application drop-down menu)

  • Choose the desired Network Screening method and open the corresponding application (Intersections, Segments, or Sliding Window)
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  • Use the date range in the top-right corner of the screen to adjust it as desired.
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    (Adjust the date range in Network Screening)

Filtering Data in Network Screening

  1. Type or scroll in the Filter Bar to find the SCHP Troops (Geo) filter and apply the desired troop value.
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    (Use the Filter Bar to find and apply the SCHP Troops (Geo) filter)
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  2. Once applied, type or scroll in the Filter Bar to find and apply the SCHP Post filter.
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    (Use the Filter Bar to find and apply the SCHP Post filter)
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  3. Continue to add filters to narrow results and focus on specific enforcement goals.
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    (Applying the Probable Cause filter to further narrow results)

The following filters can help law enforcement refine Network Screening results and focus analysis on specific crash types or behaviors:

  1. SCHP Post

    1. Filter crashes to a specific post within a troop.

  2. SCDOT SHSP Emphasis Area

    1. View crashes grouped by South Carolina’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan to identify the most common crash types in your area.

  3. Probable Cause

    1. Identify contributing factors to crashes, such as speeding and failure to yield.

  4. Vulnerable Roadway User Related

    1. View crashes that involved a pedestrian or cyclist.

  5. Unbelted

    1. Review crashes that involved at least one unbelted occupant.

  6. Holiday Periods

    1. Filter crashes during recognized holiday periods to support seasonal enforcement campaigns.

Performance Measures in Network Screening

  1. By default, the screening ranks sites by total number of crashes. To change the selected performance measure, click the header of the desired column to re-rank results. The selected performance measure column will be highlighted.
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    (The ranking column will be highlighted. Click the header of the desired column to re-rank results by that performance measure)
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  2. The following performance measures are available to rank in Network Screening:

  • Crashes: Rank sites by the total number of crashes.

  • Fatal Crashes: Rank sites by the total number of fatal crashes.

  • Crash Rate: Rank sites by the crash rate.

  • ePDO (Equivalent to Property Damage Only): Rank sites by a crash severity-weighted score that weighs each crash based on its severity, with fatal and serious injury crashes having a significantly higher weight than low or no severity crashes. ePDO can identify locations that have a higher number of more severe crashes.
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