Indianapolis Launches Fatal Crash Review Commission

A recently formed Indianapolis city commission seeks to improve the way the city investigates fatal car crashes, reports David Zipper for Bloomberg CityLab. “The commission looks beyond police reports, identifying ways in which street adjustments might reduce the likelihood of another crash and then sharing its recommendations to city leaders as well as the general public.”

The Fatal Crash Review Commission will fill a gap where both local police forces and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) often fall short. “Trained to assign individual blame, police officers may lack the skills or inclination to consider contributing factors like road design,” Zipper explains, while the NTSB focuses its investigations of car crashes on new technology and other precedent-setting situations rather than the thousands of deadly crashes that happen daily on U.S. roads.

As Zipper explains, “After the police complete their investigation, the commission looks for ways in which the built environment may have played a contributing role, considering possible fixes such as adding a pedestrian island or adjusting traffic light signals. Final recommendations are given to the mayor, city council, the chief of police, and the head of the department of public works (which manages roadways).”

The commission’s impact could be confined by its scope, which “is limited to roadway design; crash factors like vehicle features, public health, and law enforcement are outside its purview.” However, advocates hope it can provide a starting point for a deeper understanding of why crashes happen and how to prevent them.