To work more efficiently with the data, we have developed an application called “Crash Inspector” in consultation with police officers from the traffic police department in Pilsen. This program provides police officers with a very efficient tool for fast and comfortable processing, displaying and editing of data taken by us. This means that in the accident record, officers can measure, quote, describe and mark any location or evidence.  The application then generates the accident report in the format and form according to the standards required by the police.

We successfully presented the application to representatives of all traffic police departments in the Pilsen region at a joint meeting in Pilsen in early April 2021.  On this occasion, we demonstrated our technology to the police officers and introduced them to other services that we already provide to other units of the Integrated Rescue System of the Czech Republic. After agreement with the management of the Traffic Police Service Department at the Regional Directorate in Pilsen, the Crash Inspector application will be used by all traffic police officers in our region.

In order to make the application as efficient as possible for the traffic police, we have added certain GIS layers. These include the display of traffic signs at the accident scene. Thanks to this feature, inspectors know exactly where what traffic sign is and can simulate an accident to better assess who is at fault, etc.

Another layer to display is the street markings. Subsequent communication between inspectors is all the easier because they can name specific streets straight away.

The last, but also very important layer is the layer showing the pinpoints. This shows the points that GIS specialists in the field target such as building corners, road markings, water diversions, power lines, and more. These points can then be used as what are known as measurement starting points – that is, the point that surveyors use for their need to measure with the plan.

For needs of finding the measurement starting points, we created a simple, mobile app that displays these points directly at the scene. We can then tell the inspectors which point is ideal as a measurement starting point right away, because they will see it plotted in the app. We then don’t have to limit ourselves to points on the road at the accident site, but also the surrounding area, such as fields and meadows where power poles tend to be. The roadway is not always sufficiently focused and the points may not be there.

Other elements of the app include, of course, some annotation of the accident site. For these needs we have created a plotting tool in which we have several different elements to mark, for example, tracks, braking paths, etc. This feature is used to give inspectors the most detailed description of the event.

The last task of the inspector is then to generate a report. Again to make the job easier, our application has implemented this feature with various options.

During the generation of the export there is an option to select a specific area of the photo. Simultaneously with this selection, the scale for the area is then generated. Of course there are various text editing options such as colors, text boldness, italics, bullets and other basic text formats. There is also a notation of the person generating the report – it is then absolutely clear who was in charge of the accident and once the report is passed on, for example to forensic experts, it is again possible to facilitate any communication between those involved in the investigation.