Title page
Contents
Introduction 7
Fictions and Facts 8
Fiction: Crash reports are useless 8
Fact: Crash reports are used as the core of many safety improvement efforts 9
Fiction: Tribal members' identities or sacred sites can't be protected 11
Fact: Tribal governments control sensitive data elements through data-sharing agreements 12
Fiction: No injury, no crash report 14
Fact: We know from decades of research that crash severity is like a pyramid with the wide base (the largest number of crashes) made up of the lowest... 15
Fiction: We don't need details about every person 17
Fact: We use information on everyone in crashes to understand risk and outcomes 18
Fiction: If vehicles are moved or people are gone, I can't fill out the crash report 19
Fact: An officer's opinion is better than leaving the crash report blank 20
Fiction: Nobody looks at the crash narrative and diagram 22
Fact: Narratives and diagrams are important parts of the crash record 23
Fiction: I can't submit the report until every data element is completed 25
Fact: An officers can submit a crash report and amend it later 26
Fiction: I only need the name and number from the commercial truck's door 27
Fact: The owner of the power unit may not be the party responsible for the trip 28
Fiction: Local names or landmarks are the best way to locate a crash 29
Fact: There are several problems with local unique names as crash locators 30
Fiction: I can't judge injury severity or damage 32
Fact: Officers are the only source for some of this information in many crashes 33
Fiction: Only State and Federal agencies benefit when Tribes share data 35
Fact: Everyone benefits from data-sharing 36
Figure 1. Crash Severity Pyramid 15