Attorney
On August 31, 2011, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell announced the first phase of a new online interactive database of state crash information that is free and open to the public. It is the Traffic Records Electronic Data System (TREDS). TREDS allows people to access information on auto crashes, such as injuries and fatalities.
Users access TREDS through the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). While car accident statistics are viewable, personal driver information is not. People can use TREDS to create custom reports, and the database is the combined efforts of various state agencies. The goal is to reduce auto crashes by allowing drivers to view car accident causes and ideally prevent more crashes from occurring.
The TREDS database gives a 360-degree view of car accidents and is searchable by the community. In the coming year, users will be able to search TREDS by street location and by the age and gender of crash victims. Previously, all the TREDS information was scattered across various state agencies.
Using information currently available on TREDS, LortonPatch reported that in 2010 there were 494 traffic deaths in Virginia. Although informative, this level of broad-based information is not useful to members of the public. By next year, crash reports will be able to be organized by street location, and the age and gender of individuals injured or killed. This will allow both state agencies and the public to focus on those roads and intersections that pose the greatest risk to drivers in Virginia.
Knowing the causes of car wrecks and knowing what to do after a car accident Once-site specific information becomes available, we at Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis LLP recommend that everyone use TREDS to identify the most dangerous streets in your local area. Writing your local representative about improving signage and law enforcement at the most dangerous intersections may save you, your friends, or your family from a potentially life-threatening injury. Call our office today for more information.
Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis LLP
Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia Injury Attorneys
Approved by attorney Thomas McWeeny