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My name is Chuck Grasso and I am a retired Police Sergeant now working for the University of Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center as a Crash Data Liaison to Law Enforcement. I will be bringing you a newsletter on both the progress of the new MMUCC Accident Report, as well as crash investigation news. |
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 Officer Concerns |
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The Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center at UConn along with the Department of Transportation realizes that this has been an extensive project for Connecticut's Police Officers to undertake.
We would like to take a moment and describe why this project was initiated and how it will help the overall safety of the public in Connecticut. The last time the state made changes to how collisions were documented was in 1994. Most states make changes every three to four years to stay compliant with the NHTSA requirements. Connecticut has taken this initiative to become a leader in collision investigation with the MMUCC PR-1. This change will ensure that Connecticut continues to receive federal government funding for transportation projects such as DUI Enforcement Programs, Click-It or Ticket, and Distracted Driver Campaigns.
As defined in CGS 14-108 all police departments must complete this uniform accident investigation form for any qualifying collision defined in this statute. DOT will not accept any of the old PR-1 forms and any that are received by DOT will be returned to the respective department.
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Data Quality
The new MMUCC PR-1 has been used exclusively for approximately one month and the report accuracy is improving. In these newsletters we are going to continue to spotlight some areas that need more clarification to enhance the quality of the data recorded from collisions.
The following items are some of the more common issues that are occurring and in this issue we will review Numbering of Persons, Easy Street Draw Software, |
Numbering of Persons |
This section describes how all persons involved in a collision shall be documented on the new MMUCC PR-1 report form.
- Every person involved in a collision must have a unique number assigned to them. As an example if there was a two vehicle collision the operator of vehicle number 1 would be labeled # 1. The operator of vehicle # 2 would be labeled # 2. Any passengers in the vehicles would be identified starting with the number 3 and continuing in numeric order for addition passengers regardless of which vehicle they were in.
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Easy Street Draw Software |
- When completing an EZ Street Draw diagram the officer must remember to save the diagram as a JPEG file first. Once saved as a JPEG file the digram can then be downloaded to the proper location on the MMUCC PR-1 form.
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Location of Collision
- List the municipal street name or state route number on which the crash occurred, and the intersecting street name or state route number, when crashes occur at intersections.
- Distance, Direction, from Named Intersection, Town Line, or Mile Marker.
- When the crash does not occur at an intersection, include the nearest intersecting road, town line or state route mile marker, and the distance in feet or tenths of a mile from this intersecting identifier.
- It should also be indicated whether the direction from this nearest intersecting road, town line or mile marker to the crash location is north, south, east or west.
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Supervisory Review |
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A reminder to approving supervisors to please check the officers' reports to ensure accuracy and completeness. While the edit and validation checks work excellent, it cannot be relied upon to ensure a 100% accurate report. |
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If you have any questions regarding the new MMUCC PR-1 or would like to submit an unusual collision scenario please contact:
Chuck Grasso 860-486-1587 |
An operator of a commercial tractor trailer (GVW in excess of 10,000 lbs.) stopped in a rest area and exited his truck. While away from his truck the vehicle began to move and traveled down the ramp of the rest area onto the highway crossing all travel lanes and struck the Jersey barrier in the center of the highway. No other vehicles were struck or involved. The truck had to be towed due to damage.
Is this a qualifying commercial vehicle
accident? Yes
According to MMUCC a qualifying vehicle is defined as any motor vehicle displaying a hazardous material placard or a motor vehicle having a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of more than 10,000 LBS used on public highways to carry property or any motor vehicle designed to transport more than eight persons including the driver.
Any crash that involves a qualifying vehicle AND which results in one of the following is a qualifying crash: Fatality to any person, OR- Injury to any person that requires immediate medical treatment away from the crash site OR- Disablement of any vehicle as a result of damage sustained in the crash. Thank you CSP for sharing this unusual collision. |
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