INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis Department of Public Works has presented a proposal to expand the list of responsibilities for the city's Fatal Crash Review Team and investigate various "high-conflict" intersections.
According to an Indy DPW release, the Fatal Crash Review Team will investigate intersections that are hotspots for "incapacitating" crashes throughout the Circle City.
The proposal focuses on six intersections that will be investigated annually, with the first being the intersection between 79th Street and Michigan Road.
City officials will identify five additional intersections to investigate by utilizing the Automated Reporting Information Exchange System (ARIES), a crash database that provides information about the highest number of fatal and non-fatal crashes occurring at specific intersections throughout the city.
The process will also feature the use of a Road Safety Audit (RSA) to investigate three years' worth of crash data by creating a crash diagram, a field visit and other activities aimed at improving motor and pedestrian safety.
The release added that members of the Fatal Crash Review Team unanimously approved this process of obtaining data for the initiative.
In February, the Indianapolis City-County Council passed Proposal No. 22 requiring the city’s Fatal Crash Review Team to also evaluate non-fatal crashes involving serious bodily injuries in a bid to improve pedestrian safety.
The move expanded the nature of crashes that the review team analyzes to also focus on non-fatal crashes that still cause serious bodily injuries.
Pedestrian safety has been a major topic of conversation in recent months. In 2023, Indianapolis surpassed the previous year’s number of fatal crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists.
In 2022, Indianapolis recorded a higher rate of pedestrians killed (1.93 per 100,000 people) compared to larger metropolitan cities like San Francisco (1.61 per 100,000 people) and Chicago (1.36 per 100,000 people).
The city proceeded to install ‘No Turn on Red’ signs across 97 different intersections, with most of them being located downtown as part of a larger effort to address pedestrian safety and reduce driving speeds.
The Fatal Crash Review Team was established in 2022 as part of a wider effort to improve pedestrian safety in Indianapolis.