Using road crash data
Using road crash data effectively is a major part of developing a strategic road safety plan. We collate, process and provide road crash statistics on serious injuries and deaths using various sources of accurate data from NSW Health, the State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) and NSW Police.
Road crash data can help you tell the story of significant road safety issues in your community. It can be used to raise awareness of safety issues and serve as evidence to draw support for new safety measures, such as improving the road environment, purchasing safer vehicles and improving community education. You can use tools such as the Traffic Volume Viewer to prove that traffic has increased or decreased on certain roads or intersections, impacting road safety.
Statistics can show trends and compare your situation to that of other local government areas. Road crash analysis involves looking for patterns in crash type, driver factors, road features, vehicle factors (including size, mass, age and safety features) or local environmental conditions.
Where do I access road crash data?
Centre for Road Safety website
Open Data website
Safe System Analytics Council app
Detailed crash information is available to local councils through the Safe System Analytics (SSA) app. The SSA app is run on the Microsoft Power BI platform and provides downloadable crash statistics, detailed
crash reports and data visualisations in one location.
Local councils can gain access to the SSA app by contacting SSA.Support@transport.nsw.gov.au.
The app is only available to local council staff. If you are a consultant or engaged to work with local council, reach out to your local council representative to retrieve the reports. The Centre for Road Safety and Open Data website sources listed above may also be sufficient.
The SSA support team provides user guides and documents to help local councils analyse crash data to support their road safety plans. Councils may need to engage a data analyst for complex analysis.
The two videos linked below provide an overview of crash data and explain how to access this data using the SSA app, and how to navigate the system.
You can also refer to the SSA frequently asked questions (FAQs) and fact sheets: