Research and Innovative Technology AdministrationU.S. Department of Transportation
August 6, 2012
Safety.Data.Gov Initiative
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Safety.Data.Gov
• It is an Administration-wide effort to increase awareness of and
deepen insights into our Nation’s public safety activities by bringing
together data around public safety issues
• This single resource will enable innovators to extract and correlate
data in ways that will help the public and industry to make well-
informed data-driven decisions
• It was launched in May 2012 with a “Back of the Napkin” Data Dive
– results available in September
• The latest “community” of the Data.Gov series
Vision
Safety.Data.Gov empowers people to make informed decisions about their safety and the safety of others.
Who is it for?
• Federal Agencies• Developers• Entrepreneurs• First responders• Private citizens• Safety associations• State and local governments
Who else could be involved?
• Data journalists• Researchers• State and local Chief Information Officers
Who is involved?
Implementation
Safety.Data.Gov empowers people to make informed decisions about their safety and the safety of others.
How will we do it?
• Blog when we release new data to the
community• Feature data sets and problems that need
solving through the community• Include more than data – list applications,
software and tools• Highlight research and news items that
makes use of the data• Partner with organizations to promote the
site and encourage its use
How can people get involved?
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• Brings together data around public safety issues, from crime statistics to food safety to product recalls
– 8 departments and independent agencies participating, led by DOT
• Department of Transportation• Consumer Product Safety Commission• Department of Health and Human
Services (Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control)
• Department of Homeland Security (U.S. Coast Guard & Federal Emergency Management Agency)
• Department of Justice (National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation)
• National Transportation Safety Board• Department of Labor (Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, Mine Safety and Health Administration)
• Department of Education
Safety.Data.Gov
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Safety.Data.Gov (cont’d.)• Includes
– 713 datasets
– 4 mobile apps
– 14 resources and public
domain software tools
• 3 ongoing challenges– Motorcoach Safety Data
Student Challenge
– Worker Safety and Health App
Challenge
– Patient Safety Events
Challenge
What data categories do we have?
Compliance, Violations & Enforcement
Law Enforcement Data
Locations & Characteristics
Consumer Complaints
Corrections Data Product Safety
Incidents & Crashes
Fatalities, Casualties &
Injuries
Court Data & Crime Data
Environmental Consequences
Recalls
Exposure Data
Continuing to Engage Non-Government Stakeholders
• What is the potential value to your organization? (Ref. Center for Technology in Government)
– Economic– Political– Social– Strategic– Quality of Life– Ideological– Stewardship
• What data would you find most useful?• What applications would you find most useful?
An example of the metadata
14U.S. Department of TransportationResearch and Innovative Technology Administration
BTS - Safety Provisions in MAP-21
Establishes a new Safety Data Program … on behalf of the Secretary a program—(I) to effectively
integrate safety data across modes; and (II) to address gaps in existing safety data programs of the Department
Safety components of other BTS programs The Intermodal Transportation Database provides exposure data
for accident rates The National Transportation Atlas Database can serve as a
repository for state highway safety base maps The National Transportation Library is a repository of data and
research and a platform for dissemination of information to the public
15U.S. Department of TransportationResearch and Innovative Technology Administration
Role of Safety.Data.GovEstablishes the safety data universe
Identifies the variety of data to be integrated for the Safety Data Program A portal to transportation safety data for the National Transportation
Library
A platform for data integration A place where inconsistent definitions of variables and other comparability
issues can be highlighted A venue for developing common definitions and applications that bridge
across data sets to improve comparability A place to inspire participation by the broad community in solving safety
data problems
A platform for addressing data gaps A forum for feedback on data needs and for strategies to meet those
needs