LEVERAGING MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH DATA ( continued )
3 . First Harmful Event The First Harmful Event ( FHE ) is defined as the first injury or damage-producing event of the crash . In a crash where only one vehicle is involved , the first harmful event cannot be a 11-Motor Vehicle in Motion . It would be the object or event that the vehicle struck . If a Pedestrian or Bicyclist is involved , then the FHE for the vehicle is the 06-Pedestrian or 07-Bicyclist and FHE for the Ped / Bicyclist is the 11-Motor Vehicle in Motion .
4 . Latitude and Longitude / Crash Location Identifying the location of the crash is paramount in all roadway related crashes . Latitude and longitude coordinates are required on all crash reports submitted . The coordinates should be captured from the location of the first harmful event as defined above . Special attention should be given to identifying this location when the involved vehicles have been moved from the trafficway prior to the arrival of the investigating officer . In addition , some of the software utilized by various departments automatically locate the coordinates when the report is started . If officers do not have capabilities to capture GIS coordinates through the crash report software , the coordinates may be obtained by using Google Earth or other internet map-based software .
50 FALL 2021