Cops and Collisions--An investigation of law enforcement traffic safety

During each year since 1998, traffic collisions took more lives and ended more careers for Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) in the US than any other event—felonious or unintentional. These collisions are estimated to cost federal, state, and local governments more than $100,000,000 annually. A majority of all LEO-involved traffic collisions result from preventable driving errors. The California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (CalPOST) has embarked on a national SAFE (Situation-Appropriate, Focused, and Educated) Driving Campaign to reduce the occurrence these deaths and injuries. The SAFE Driving Campaign has assembled a team of researchers from varied disciplines to investigate causes of LEO-involved collisions and their potential countermeasures using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The research plan includes a controlled laboratory study of the impacts of fatigue and distraction on driving performance as measured via law enforcement driving simulator and bio-physiological measurements. Observational studies include an epidemiological description of statewide collisions and a matched case-control study of collision risk factors. A subset of the case officers and supervisors will undergo an in-depth investigation of departmental culture, effects of supervision and management practices, and effects of policies and procedures. This presentation will describe CalPOST's research plan, data production efforts, working theories/hypotheses, and initial research findings.