MS2 Press

By Jim Santilli, Coordinator, Traffic Improvement Association, Michigan  

Lieutenant David Livingston demonstrates TCAT 2.0 to law enforcement officers at the Troy Police Department on Wednesday

Law Enforcement and Traffic Engineering Officials Receive Training on a Web-Based Crash Analysis Program

WATERFORD–In a continued effort to reduce traffic crashes in the state of Michigan, the Traffic Improvement Association (TIA) hosted a training session for the users of its newest Traffic Crash Analysis Tool (TCAT 2.0) on Monday.  The four-hour training session, which was held at the Oakland County Executive Office Building in Waterford, was designed to teach law enforcement and traffic engineering officials the capabilities of the new program. 

“Since 1967, TIA has made the availability of accurate and timely traffic crash data a high priority,” said Susan M. Cischke, group vice president of Sustainability, Environment, and Safety Engineering at Ford Motor Company, and chair of the TIA Board of Directors.  “With the advancement of computerized technology, TIA has made significant progress.”

TCAT 2.0 is a comprehensive web-based traffic crash analysis program that was designed for the detailed study of traffic crashes at any location within the state of Michigan. The program receives a weekly update of data from the Michigan State Police, which guarantees that TCAT 2.0 users are able to analyze the most up-to-date crash data. 

“TCAT 2.0 provides increased speed, better accuracy, and a number of additional features that enhances the user’s ability to promote traffic safety in Michigan,” said James A. Santilli, Jr., coordinator of Information Technology, Public Relations, and Traffic Safety Services at TIA. 

Santilli, who serves as the project manager for TCAT 2.0, stated the program is coordinated and funded by TIA, and the computer programming duties are conducted by Midwestern Software Solutions (MS2).  MS2, which is based in Ann Arbor, developed TCAT 2.0 based on the expert advice of TIA’s traffic engineers and the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC). 

“Currently, MS2 has clients ranging from Los Angeles to New York,” said Santilli.  “As a result, TIA was confident that MS2 had the knowledge and experience needed to take TCAT to the next level.” 

TCAT 2.0 has the ability to search various types of locations for specific data, view crash statistics for several categories, interact with a map to obtain detailed crash statistics and other information pertaining to a location, view collision diagrams, review UD-10 crash report images, and create intersection and road segment ranking reports for a comparative analysis. 

“Thanks to TIA, we know where the crashes are occurring and frequently what caused them,” said Brent O. Bair, managing director of RCOC.  “This data allows us to select and design projects that will have the greatest likelihood of reducing traffic fatalities and serious injuries.” 

According to Santilli, Michigan State Police records indicate there were 980 persons killed and 74,568 persons injured in 316,057 reported motor vehicle traffic crashes in Michigan during 2008.  “On average, one person was killed every 8 hours and 56 minutes, and one person was injured every 7 minutes and 3 seconds,” said Santilli. 

In 2008, Oakland County had 0.43 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles of travel, which is less than half the statewide rate of 0.97 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles of travel. 

“This is not an overnight phenomenon,” observed Bair.  “This was more than 40 years in the making, and represents the collective efforts of a lot of people, from RCOC to TIA, to local law enforcement and others.” 

Bair also acknowledges the state legislature, which mandated seatbelt usage, and the auto manufacturers that have continuously improved the safety of their vehicles. 

Currently, there are more than one-hundred users of TCAT 2.0, and TIA continues to add users daily.  User access is restricted to government agencies and private traffic engineering firms. 

“Having a system to assemble traffic crash data for problem identification and site selection is critical for initiating an effective enforcement and prevention mobilization,” said Oakland County Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard.  “Through the use of TCAT 2.0, law enforcement agencies can target the problem locations in an effort to reduce fatalities and serious injuries.” 

More than fifty representatives were present from the following agencies on Monday: Auburn Hills Police Department; Battle Creek Department of Public Works; Bergmann Associates; Clawson Police Department; The Corradino Group; Farmington Hills Department of Engineering; HNTB Michigan, Inc.; Hubbell, Roth & Clark, Inc.; Keego Harbor Police Department; Lake Orion Police Department; Livonia Police Department; Madison Heights Community Development; Michigan Department of Transportation; Oak Park Department of Public Safety; Oakland County Sheriff’s Office; Road Commission for Oakland County; Rochester Department of Public Works; Rochester Hills Department of Public Works; Southeast Michigan Council of Governments; Southfield Police Department; Traffic Improvement Association; Troy Engineering Department; Troy Police Department; URS Corporation; Wade Trim; West Bloomfield Police Department; and Wixom Police Department. 

About TIA 

TIA is a non-profit traffic safety organization that currently serves approximately seventy communities in Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, and Livingston Counties.  TIA was organized in 1967 by community leaders to address adverse traffic safety issues in Oakland County.  Today, Oakland County has one of the lowest traffic crash fatality rates in the nation, and TIA was instrumental in this achievement.  The mission of TIA is to facilitate engineering, education, and enforcement programs that reduce human and economic losses caused by traffic crashes, and improve mobility in Michigan.