Four E's of crash analytics, part 2: Enforcement

Melissa Savage
Melissa Savage|April 30, 2012

Last week I introduced this series. Today I begin to dive deeper into each of the four E’s. First up? Enforcement. In 2009, there were 5.5 million police-reported traffic crashes.  Law enforcement officers work diligently to prevent crashes by enforcing traffic safety laws pertaining to, among other things, seat belt [...]

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Promises, (over)promises

Vincent Talucci
Vincent Talucci|March 23, 2012

As public safety officials leaf through their favorite criminal justice periodical they are greeted with pages and pages of analytics advertisements. These ads are laden with promises of robust and scalable solutions, improved efficiencies and, yes, the promise of prediction. While reading the advertisements, the mental conversation may go something [...]

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Fallen interstate sign shows importance of asset management

Melissa Savage
Melissa Savage|March 15, 2012

A few weeks ago, in Northern Virginia, a 30 foot highway sign fell onto I-66 and landed on a passing pickup truck.  Fortunately, no one was hurt, but it drew media attention and caused motorists in the area to wonder about the safety of other signs and the transportation network [...]

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Analytics helping transportation officials get the job done in tight financial times

Melissa Savage
Melissa Savage|February 9, 2012

The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials recently released a top 10 list of transportation issues that will be “talked, written or tweeted and legislated about” in 2012.   As expected, funding constraints and Congressional action on reauthorization appear on the list but the group also notes that natural disaster [...]

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Predictive policing is passé

Vincent Talucci
Vincent Talucci|February 2, 2012

My colleague, Steve Serrao, just published a blog post on the proliferation of varied law enforcement approaches and their related phraseologies. After reading, I concur – hence, this blog’s title. I am not a huge fan of the term “predictive policing”. While others may love it and live it, and [...]

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Local government impact of rising group medical and insurance costs, and what can be done

Bill Coleman
Bill Coleman|January 24, 2012

The single most costly employee benefit for any organization is health insurance, and the price is going up. From 2003-2009, the costs per hour worked for employee health insurance increased from $1.03 to $2.00. These costs continue to increase from 5%-7% per year. The reality is that employee health insurance costs will continue [...]

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Analysis of 311 call data can lead to better service, lower costs

Bill Coleman
Bill Coleman|January 24, 2012

Many cities and counties are taking the lead of private industry and developing 311 call centers to consolidate incoming calls for service and information requests from citizens. The business advantages are clear: Citizens have one number to call for service and information rather than having to waste time searching for [...]

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Using analytics to manage capital projects funding & costs

Bill Coleman
Bill Coleman|January 17, 2012

Cities and counties are responsible for building and maintaining the infrastructure to support a broad range of services. Local governments must develop and implement multiyear capital projects plans that provide infrastructure for things such as jails, courts, public office buildings, streets, bridges, parks, athletic complexes and community centers, water treatment [...]

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The art and science of seating charts

Nadja Young
Nadja Young|January 12, 2012

A’s in the front, Z’s in the back. How many of us grew up sitting in alphabetical order next to the same few classmates throughout school? While this is a quick and efficient way to learn student names, which is no easy task, it is not the most effective way [...]

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Phone distraction just one part of traffic crash picture

Melissa Savage
Melissa Savage|January 9, 2012

During one week in December, two separate transportation agencies within the federal government made two major announcements.  First, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) – the government agency responsible for guiding traffic safety initiatives on the nation’s highways announced that crash fatalities had declined to record low rates.  Just [...]

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