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Safety Processes

Our Customer Success team helps agencies turn crash data into actionable insights. The processes below show how they’re making their communities safer.

Tracking Crashes with Signage Damage to Improve Traffic Operations

The Traffic Operations team in Douglas County, GA, uses AASHTOWare Safety to support data gathering for grant applications, track crash patterns involving equipment infrastructure, and respond to public data requests.

Implementation Effort

  • Requires minimal effort
  • Timeline between 2-3 weeks*

* Assuming an agency has an existing, configured AASHTOWare Safety instance and all required data

Required Data

  • Crash Data

Focus Areas

  • Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant
  • Signage Replacement
  • Traffic Operations

Process Overview

The Traffic Operations team in Douglas County, Georgia, is responsible for maintaining key roadway features, including signals, signage, and pavement markings. To apply for Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) funding, the team had to submit an application to support upcoming signage replacement projects. As part of the application, they needed to compile the total number of crashes and the manner of collision for each county roadway in need of funding.

Previously, the team accessed crash records through the Georgia Electronic Accident Reporting System (GEARS), which offered limited flexibility for exploring specific patterns. In particular, they needed to understand the types of crashes occurring on specific roadways to understand the best candidates for signage replacement. The team needed to especially focus on roadways with crashes that resulted in damage to critical roadside infrastructure, such as pedestrian poles, signal cabinets, or signage.

To meet this need, the team began using AASHTOWare Safety, which provided precise filtering and data analysis that enabled the team to:

  • Review crash narratives to verify exact locations and understand the context of collisions.
  • Apply filters such as First Harmful Event and Maintenance Agency to identify crashes most relevant to traffic signal operations in the county.
  • Focus on areas where equipment damage was recurring to inform future maintenance and protection strategies.
(Crash Query displaying the manner of collision for crashes on Douglas County roadways)

This approach enabled the team to isolate crash data tied to specific operational concerns. In doing so, they not only strengthened their grant application with more complete data but also began to build a clearer picture of infrastructure vulnerabilities across the county.

In addition to supporting grant applications and infrastructure planning, adopting AASHTOWare Safety has also helped the team manage the regular flow of public data requests more effectively. By running location-specific queries and exporting crash records, staff can respond to community concerns more efficiently. Whether it’s a resident asking about recent crashes near an intersection or a question about signal-related incidents, the team can quickly pull relevant information.

Analyzing crash data in AASHTOWare Safety has improved the processes within the Douglas County Traffic Operations team, putting them in a better position to support funding opportunities and provide timely responses to both internal and public inquiries.

More information on this topic can be found below:

Crash Query

Want to implement this safety feature within your organization?

The Crash Query application enables users to run custom crash queries and displays the results in real-time.