Police, understandably, resent expanding the scope of data collection to meet users' needs because the extra data are perceived as not related to police functions and as too time consuming. Information is needed about all crashes and all persons involved to accurately monitor the status of highway safety. Incomplete data greatly limit the usefulness of the state's crash data as a source of information for supporting highway safety program efforts. Types of Reporting Thresholds States have initiated reporting thresholds to balance data collection demands with available staff time and funds. Implementation of these threshold criteria is not uniform among the states.
Most states limit reporting to crashes which occur on public roads.
Larger states are more likely to choose the higher property damage threshold or even to go beyond property damage to include only those crashes in which at least one vehicle had to be towed away. As a minimum, states should collect data for motorists, injured and uninjured, and for nonmotorists involved in crashes in which at least one vehicle is disabled by damage severe enough to prevent driving it.