| *TRAFFIC TECH* |
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|                | Technology Transfer SeriesNumber 104, September 1995 |

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## IACP   LAW ENFORCEMENT FLEET CRASH STUDY

In 1986, the International Association   of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conducted a crash study to learn where and how often   law enforcement officers were crashing. Recently, the IACP sent a followup survey   to all IACP member agencies to update information about incidents of injury   from police crashes. Six hundred and twenty-six agencies responded. Several   of the larger municipal law enforcement agencies and state police and highway   patrol agencies provided indepth information about their fleet crashes. An 18   page report summarizes the findings of this new survey, based on crash data   from 1988 through 1994.

Law   Enforcement Officers at Risk in Motor Vehicles Crashes

Law enforcement officers are more   likely to be involved in a crash than the average driver because of the nature   of their work. They drive in all kinds of weather, patrol for long periods,   drive many miles in complex traffic and often at night, and must focus their   attention on their surroundings while driving. Plus police vehicles have additional   special equipment that may increase risks of injury.

State law enforcement agencies   reported 13.12 crashes per million miles traveled, while other law enforcement   agencies (city, township, county police and sheriff's offices) reported 25.3   crashes per million miles traveled. As the figures show, about two thirds of   these crashes happen in rural areas for state police, and in urban areas for   other police agencies. Police officers crash where they work and more than half   of the crashes occur during normal patrols.

State law enforcement agencies   reported that 11 percent of their crashes resulted in an injury to an officer.   Other law enforcement agencies report that their injuries have declined to about   15 percent, down from 24 percent in the earlier study. Today, 100 percent of   state law enforcement agencies, and 95 percent of other law enforcement agencies,   have a safety belt use policy in effect for their officers.

What   Do Fleet Crashes Cost a Law Enforcement Agency?

Law enforcement agencies face   three major cost items as a result of fleet motor vehicle crashes -- worker's   compensations benefits, civil law suits, and vehicle repair and replacement   expenses.

The average worker's compensation   benefit paid each year per state   law enforcement agency is $161,003, and for other law enforcement agencies,   the average is $117,190.

In this study, 93 percent of the   state law enforcement agencies and 51 percent of the other law enforcement agencies   reported they have had civil suits filed against them as a result of a motor   vehicle crash. These percentages are representative only of the agencies who   responded to the survey and may not reflect all of the police agencies in the   IACP membership.

State agencies spent an average   of $214,000 per year per agency on repairs or replacements to department vehicles   because of vehicle crashes, and other law enforcement agencies spent an average   of $125,400.

Copies of the IACP *Law   Enforcement Fleet Crash Study* are available from the International   Association of Chiefs of Police, NHTSA Regional Offices, State Highway Safety   Offices, or by writing to the Office of Enforcement and Emergency Services,   NHTSA, NTS-41, 400 Seventh Street S.W., Washington, DC 20590, or by sending   a fax to (202) 366-7721.

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 U.S. Department   of TransportationNational   HighwayTraffic   SafetyAdministration400 Seventh Street, S.W. NTS-33Washington, DC 20590

Traffic   Tech is a publication to disseminate information   about traffic safety programs, including   evaluations, innovative programs, and   new publications. Feel free to copy it as you wish.

If you would like to receive a   copy contact: 

Linda Cosgrove, Ph.D., Editor,     Evaluation Staff Traffic   Safety Programs(202) 366-2759