A traffic safety focus group at Charles Hart Middle School in Southeast DC, hosted by WABA and Safe Routes Partnership. Image used with permission.

If you live in the Washington region, you probably have a story about a scary or stressful experience you had trying to get around. There’s a good chance you have had to swerve around a car parked in a bike lane, or had to quickly move out of the way of a reckless driver when walking across the street. As you might have read in recent coverage, there’s now a reporting tool that will help decision makers and advocates work to prevent traffic crashes and fix unsafe locations in the future.

In my role as the Executive Director at the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, I hear from community members across the region and I engage with decision-makers who design and enforce regional roadways. Everyone agrees that getting around should be safer.

With that goal in mind, WABA worked with safety experts at Howard University and the nonprofit Safe Routes Partnership to create a simple reporting tool to help record community members’ experiences on our streets: near-miss traffic incidents, dangerous locations, traffic crashes, and even vehicles parked in bike lanes.

We call it the Crash Tracker. It’s a simple, quick way to report problematic incidents you face when out in the community, whether you are walking, biking, taking public transportation, or even driving.

Why and how did we develop this tool? Let’s start from the beginning.

In 2021, young children were among those killed and seriously injured walking and riding bikes on District streets. We concluded the city’s youth needed a tool to communicate the everyday dangers they face.

Under the direction of WABA’s Advocacy Director, Jeremiah Lowery, we started with the intention of developing a crash tracker tool for youth, backed by funds from the National Safety Council. But over the course of development we decided to expand the scope to allow all age groups to use our tool.

From the outset, our team wanted to ensure we prioritized listening to the voices of those most impacted by traffic violence. A Washington Post analysis of eight years of data shows that majority-Black neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River consistently had the largest share of traffic fatalities and have the deadliest intersections in the District. Even though wards 7 and 8 have roughly a quarter of the city’s population, they experienced nearly half of all traffic-related deaths in DC, according to the analysis.

Howard University researchers got the ball rolling by examining traffic incidents in neighborhoods east of the river to help guide the development of the reporting tool for use citywide and beyond. While Howard researchers were conducting their research, WABA and Safe Routes Partnership conducted in-person and virtual focus groups with students, parents, and teachers in Ward 8.

Through our focus groups, we were able to hear directly from over 100 residents on how our reporting tool should be designed and which reporting options the participants would like to see included.

After we compiled the data, research, and feedback, we worked with a contractor on the development of the web-based reporting tool with mobile compatibility.

What are the features of this tool?

We needed a better way for community members to share their experiences, in an quick, intuitive, accessible way that people of different ages, abilities, and travel modes would use.

The core feature of the Crash Tracker is a comprehensive incident reporting form that captures all necessary details, including incident location, date, time, and description.

You can report a traffic crash, a car parked in a bike lane, a dangerous location, or a near-miss incident. Within our traffic data collection ecosystem, near-miss data are almost never collected, even though a near-miss for one person could be a traffic crash for the next person, so this reporting tool is essential in filling that information gap

Location-based pop up: When you access the web page, a pop-up will request permission to utilize your current location. If granted, this will enable the automatic population of the address form with your precise geographical details. By integrating real-time location data, we aim to streamline the process of filling out the address form, providing the user with a convenient and accurate experience.

In addition, an interactive map allows you to fine-tune the exact location you want to specify. This is especially useful for cases where the address corresponds to a specific building or spot within a larger area.

A screenshot from WABA's tool.

Image uploading: The report form incorporates an image uploading feature to augment the accuracy and comprehensiveness of reported incidents. You can attach relevant images that visually document the situation you are reporting.

Geo-tagging: Even though the incident location is provided in the report form, we understand the critical importance of accuracy. Therefore, the incident reporter’s current latitude and longitude coordinates will be automatically embedded in the report. This dynamic feature ensures an exact snapshot of the reporter’s location, enhancing the precision and reliability of the reported data.

The information you submit will not be passed on to police or any corporation, and any names and email addresses will be kept strictly confidential.

Automatic email notification to local officials: You have the option to send an automated email to relevant government agencies and your city or county council member. We included this option to give the you the chance to send your report to parties that have the power to fix the locations you are reporting. (Note: as an organizer, this is my favorite feature!).

How can you use our tool?

To use our tool, visit waba.org/crashtracker. Please send us your tips for improving the tool, as there will be occasional updates to improve usability and provide more reporting options. If you are involved in a crash, you can find a list of resources on WABA’s website.

Going forward, WABA will be releasing a yearly public report that includes an analysis of the data from the tool, including a map. This database will illustrate issues facing road users, including hazardous intersections, flawed administrative processes, and unsafe infrastructure.

We envision the general public, advocates, and local officials will use the data from this tool to identify and document some of the most dangerous hotspots in our transportation network, and then collaborate on solutions. In the end, we wish to make this site one of the many tools to help achieve Vision Zero, eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries throughout the region.