third day of internships

Wednesday, February 12th, 2020. In the morning I started off by meeting with the Crash Data and Analysis team. I met Mark and Lacey and they gave me presentations about work they do. Mark tracks and analyzes crashes. He gave me a copy of an actual crash report and I learned how they’re supposed to fill them out and important factors they can’t leave out. I learned that although they do the crash report, the law enforcement brings them the report and they have the final say. I also learned how you can purchase your own crash report if you ever are in a wreck. I also learned that anybody can buy these reports they don’t have to be your own, and you can submit a request to buy, if you don’t meet the certain requirements then you are not allowed to purchase a crash report. I then met with Amber and Shawn. Amber, interprets crashes. She figures out how it happened, who got hurt, how did the vehicles approach each other, where did the crash occur, what was the road type, etc. These and more factors are what she has to analyze and put in a report. She also provides the data for the “Click it or Ticket” campaigns and such. She collects data of motor vehicle crashes, deaths, injuries throughout the whole state. The data they provide is from 2010-2020. I also learned that here in TxDOT they have a mission that is called “Road to 0.” What this means is that they are hoping that by 2050, with the help of everybody including the community, there will be 0 fatalities by 2050. With Shawn, I learned that she works with all the crash fatalities in the state. She collects the date and time of death and the severity. I learned that every fatality has to be reported and have to have a death/ toxicology report, which is just a report to determine wether the deceased or anybody who was involved in the crash was intoxicated or on drugs. After lunch, I met with the Behavioral Traffic Safety Section. I met with Tracie and she works in BTS. She gave me an overview of what her team and what she does. They educate the public about safety. By the public, they educate everybody who uses roads, so pedestrians, medalists, drivers, etc. They also educate people how to use car seats, to buckle up and the affects if you don’t and just safety overall.