Characteristics and availability of fatal road-crash databases in 20 countries worldwide.

INTRODUCTION This study examined the characteristics and availability of fatal road-crash databases worldwide. METHOD The study involved two parts. First, the major international road databases were briefly reviewed. Second, the national databases in 20 selected countries were examined. RESULTS (a) the available international databases of fatal road crashes typically include aggregated data; (b) there is a national database of fatal road crashes in each country examined; (c) all countries provide aggregated crash data, but there are substantial restrictions on the availability of disaggregated data; and (d) overall, the crash data at the accident level are relatively similar, but there are substantial differences in the information at the person level. CONCLUSION The results imply that international road safety research would greatly benefit from expanded availability of disaggregated fatal crash data worldwide.