Accident statistics committee created within the NSC to study the preparation of accident data.

The Public Safety Division of the NSC, included a statistical committee that was responsible for developing report forms for accidents on public highways, as well as for accidents involving water transportation and aircraft, those occurring in buildings and other structures, and accidents connected with recreation.

NSC produced the first forms for reporting public accidents, including motor vehicle traffic accidents.

The Public Safety Division became the Street and Highways Section. An accident records committee was formed that continued to develop recording procedures until 1957. Committee members included traffic records personnel from most states.

NSC developed its National Traffic Safety Contest, a group of 25 national organizations banded together to assist in developing a standardized procedure for recording traffic accident statistics. This group, the National Conference on Uniform Traffic Accident Statistics, developed the contest’s report forms, evaluation schedules, and scoring systems.

The Conference formulated a manual on accident classification.

The Conference was invited to join the NSC as a committee within the Traffic Conference. In this capacity it continued to guide the NSC and served as an advisory group on the Annual Inventory of Traffic Activities-Accident Records, which replaced the traffic safety content in 1958.

The Committee on Uniform Traffic Accident Statistics was replaced by the Traffic Accident Data (TAD) Project Steering Committee which was dedicated to updating record-keeping in all states and cities.

The TAD Committee developed the Manual on Classification of Motor Vehicle Traffic Accidents, which came into effect as the American National Standard Institute’s (ANSI) D16.1 committee.

The TAD Committee decided that its steering role was no longer needed and that the records field would be better served if administrators were gathered in a body that would allow exchange of ideas. Thus, the Traffic Records Committee was formed. Many of the objectives in 1973 are still the pillars of the Association today.

Members were active in various ANSI subcommittees preparing the first Data Element Dictionary for Traffic Records Systems (ANSI) D20.1, reference book allowing states to standardize their data on accidents, roadways, drivers, vehicles, and other elements of the traffic scene.

The committee voted to reduce the maximum time span for traffic fatalities from 12 months to 90 days between the time of the accident and the death of the victim.

ANSI D20 dictionary was adopted at the Fourth National Forum on Traffic Records Systems in Rochester, New York, in 1978. The committee began revision of its governing rules to formally recognize a three-region concept – east, central, and west – to ensure truly representative participation on the committee, and to rotate the location of the forum each year among the regions.

Maximum time span of 3 months for a fatality was adopted as an ANSI standard.

At the sixth forum, held in 1980 in Dallas, Texas, three revisions to the governing rules were approved which still shape the Association today. The three-region concept was embodied, the annual meeting and election of officers and executive board members was changed to coincide with the date of the international forum, and lastly, the rules provided for a chairman, first vice chairman, and second vice chairman, each from a different region.

At the tenth forum in Orlando, record-keepers facing the age of the microcomputer had a chance to try out the newest hardware as well as hear about the latest developments from distinguished experts.

Creation of the National Agenda for the improvement of highway safety information systems began.

National Agenda presented. The six goals which comprise the broad framework for the National Agenda are as applicable today as they were 15 years ago. In condensed form the goals are: 1) Appreciation of the Value of Information, 2) Coordination of the Collection, Management, and Use of Data, 3) Integration of Programs with Information Systems, 4) Resources to Make the Appropriate Technology Choices, 5) Training in Methods Appropriate for Evaluation, and 6) Standards for Information Systems.

The proposal for the Traffic Records Committee to become the Association of Highway Safety Information Professionals (AHSIP) was presented to the NSC’s Highway Traffic Safety Division during the National Safety Congress in 2001.