Traffic Safety Initiatives: Texas Department of Transportation Takes the Bull by the Horns: A Data-Driven Approach to Crime and Traffic Safety

The emotional and financial toll that motor vehicle crashes, social harms, and crime have on a community cannot be overstated. The nexus that exists between these issues triggered the genesis of what has become known as the Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) operational model used by more than 700 police agencies across the United States.1 The model has been formally recognized and endorsed by an impressive array of U.S. federal entities and prominent organizations such as the National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, International Association of Chiefs of Police, and National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) designed and promoted the model beginning in 2008 and tested the effectiveness in communities throughout the United States. In addition, NHTSA partnered with the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) in October 2010 to increase awareness of the model’s benefits to the law enforcement community. NHTSA’s plan included IADLEST coordinating and delivering DDACTS Implementation Workshops and providing technical and analytical support in all 10 NHTSA regions.