Impediments to Effective Problem Identification

The following factors may impede effective problem identification:
  • Data access restrictions.
  • Inability to link automated files.
  • Lack of location-specific data.
  • Poor data quality.
  • Reporting threshold fluctuations (variations among jurisdictions in the minimum damage or crash severity they routinely report).
  • Insufficient data (property damage only, non-reportable crashes, near misses, bicycle crashes, etc.).
Planners should be alert to these possible impediments and make appropriate adjustments when they appear.