2022AssessmentResults

 

The Kentucky TRCC is one committee and includes both executive and technical representation. The Commonwealth indicates the executive members have the authority to direct resources to fulfill their respective areas of responsibility. It is noted that there is both technical and executive representation at the meetings.

The Commonwealth Office of Technology (COT) provides services to the executive branch of government. This group coordinates with state agencies to provide the appropriate level of services required for implementing new projects or updates. Agency system custodians are members of the TRCC and set up communication between COT, Agency system custodians, and vendors to ensure hardware and software needs are met, installed and deployed.

The TRCC-KTRAC's primary role is the development of the Traffic Records Strategic Plan, as reflected in the 2017-2021 and 2022-2026 Traffic Records Strategic Plans. The committee's continued involvement is reflected in Section 3.1, Governance and Structure of the Draft 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. The roles and responsibilities are stated in the first sections of the Traffic Records Strategic Plan. The committee has the authority to review any of the Commonwealth's highway safety data and systems before planned changes are implemented. Some of the tasks assigned to the group are administrative and technical guidance, establishing goals for improvement of the traffic records system, recommending upgrades to reporting forms, formats and procedures in gathering and disseminating data, and also recommending requirements for file linkage. They are also tasked with providing evaluation for the traffic records systems, maintaining and updating the Strategic Highway Safety Plan.

Kentucky identified at least one performance measure for each of the six core systems. There were two processes in which these performance measures were identified. Some of the systems chose to utilize the NHTSA advisory document to create a survey of their respective systems. This determined the capacity and qualities of each system and helped officials identify needed improvements for performance measures. A couple of the systems opted to identify needs and improvement opportunities through email and numerous discussions. In the strategic plan, each system has a table with the identified performance measures, attributes, baseline, goal, and deliverable date. The table provides a tool for tracking and monitoring by the TRCC. A project was funded to track the performance measures. It was noted in the narrative that the report was shared annually with the data system custodian and discussed in TRCC meetings. Meeting minutes or an annual report were not provided, so it is unclear what this monitoring report looked like.

Kentucky has provided an assessment of the current Traffic Records databases which is a strong start to creating a comprehensive traffic records inventory. Kentucky does a great job of inventorying and assessing the traffic records systems and has incorporated these into the Strategic Plan. The Commonwealth specifies traffic records data sources and system custodians but does not include software platforms, programming languages, data elements and attributes, linkage variables, linkages useful to the Commonwealth, and data access policies. Note: The purpose of the traffic records inventory is to provide a single source document containing the specifications for the data source, programming language, owner/manager of the data, data elements and attributes, software platforms, linkages, and access policies for each system.

The Kentucky TRCC-KTRAC has co-chairs, one of which is the Traffic Records Coordinator and the other from the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety (KOHS) within the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC). This position recently transferred to Ed Harding, Systems Consultant IT. The other chair rotates.

The Kentucky TRCC's multi-year assessment project reviews each of the six core data systems to review the progress made in meeting the goals of the performance metrics. The 2020 report provides some information regarding the quality of the data in terms of the percentage of accurate crash records that are locatable, percentage of EMS records with no errors in critical data elements, and percentage of roadway data elements whose values are within reasonable ranges, etc. The report still seems to focus on the performance measures and not on quality control and quality improvement processes for each of the core data systems.

It appears the TRCC's program planning and coordination efforts do reflect traffic records improvement funding sources beyond § 405(c) funds. KTRAC identifies that FHWA funds were used in the development of the Traffic Records Strategic Plan and inventory of systems. At this time, the focus of KTRAC has been on the investment of NHTSA 405(c) funding. However, the members of KTRAC do receive funding from other sources. KTRAC attempts to coordinate the disbursement of the 405(c) funding with known external funding. It is suggested the Commonwealth explore all funding sources associated with a Traffic Records project and make note of other funding sources being used by other members.

The strategic plan for Kentucky TRCC has done an excellent job in setting up the countermeasures for each of the six core data systems. Each system has at least one performance measure, if not several, identified. There is a table set up identifying the performance measure by attribute (timeliness, accuracy, completeness, etc.). In some cases, there are possible performance measures identified as the data system progresses or is brought online. Well done. It would be beneficial for Kentucky to develop a tracking system in which they could capture these attribute measures and define how these measures are being adhered to.

Kentucky's process for prioritizing traffic record improvement projects is comprehensive with a calendar-based planning cycle. Proposals are received from the agencies responsible for data collecting as well as from university and government researchers involved in the analysis of safety-related data. These are submitted to the TRCC for review and funding considerations.

Timelines for specific project-level activities are not identified because the projects are funded for a single fiscal year. There is not a formal process to outline a timeline for projects. A planning cycle calendar in the strategic plan identifies deadlines for monthly progress reports and a final report, which is due with their final reimbursement claim at the conclusion of the grant year on September 30th.

The roles and responsibilities of the Kentucky TRCC, as listed in the TRCC strategic plan, include fostering the development of new technologies for reporting, processing, storing, and using data at both the local and state levels. It appears the TRCC has administrative, executive, and technical sub-committees to address the use of technology when considering, reviewing, developing, and managing traffic records projects. It is evident within the strategic plan that most projects have a technology component that is being addressed by the technology group or technology groups within the project agency.

It does not appear the Traffic Records Strategic Plan makes provisions for coordination with key Federal traffic records data systems. Kentucky should be commended for encouraging efforts by member agencies to work with their Federal traffic records partners. KTRAC has encouraged improvement towards national standards, for instance, compliance with MMUCC and MIRE and the FDEs.

The statewide crash data is maintained by the Department of Kentucky State Police (KSP) in the Kentucky Open Portal Solution (KyOPS).

All fatal crashes must be submitted to the statewide crash system, pursuant to State Statutes. The fatal crash determination is based on the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and NHTSA guidelines.

The State Statute states: "Any person operating a motor vehicle upon the public traffic way who is involved in a collision resulting in any property damage exceeding five-hundred dollars ($500) shall file a written report of the collision with the Kentucky State Police within ten days from the date of occurrence of the collision when an investigation is not conducted by a law enforcement officer."

Law enforcement agency policies vary regarding the reporting of private property/ parking lot crashes which are not required to be submitted, but Kentucky State Police report those crashes if they include injury or damage in excess of $500, and all crashes reported by officers are included in the statewide crash repository.

The Commonwealth uses the crash database along with its Highway Information System (HIS) database to develop a Data Driven Safety Analysis to guide project engineering, planning, design, maintenance & operation, and Construction.

Kentucky provided examples of before and after studies using HSM methods to show the result of safety countermeasure effectiveness evaluations on three types of systemic improvements.

ANSI D.16 classification definitions are used to ensure that Kentucky's crash form is consistent with national standards.

The data dictionary documents edit checks and validation rules.

The Commonwealth provided an example of the Location Screen portion of the data dictionary that makes specific reference to the data coming from the Department of Transportation, but this example didn't provide a clear indication about what specific system the location data is derived from. The response indicates that the crash system does not natively link to other systems.

Kentucky re-evaluates its crash form regularly. Over the past several years, it has been re-evaluated annually.

Kentucky has the validation rules and edit checks documented in the data dictionary for crash data quality assurance and quality control.

All crashes are submitted by police electronically to the statewide crash database.

All officers submit crash reports using the same software with consistent edits and validation rules.

Officers use barcode scanners to capture accurate information from the vehicle file. This is not a real-time interface with the vehicle file in that the barcode is limited to information that was current on the date that the registration was printed. The other reference in the response is to the VIN file. If this is in reference to the use of the VIN decoder by the vehicle database, that would not be related to a real-time interface with the vehicle system.

There is no real-time linkage or interface of the systems, although the systems can be integrated for statistical purposes.

There are edits and validation rules that must be met by all those who submit crash reports prior to their acceptance into the crash repository.

Kentucky has an automated process to reject the crash reports that don't meet validation and edit check rules. The rejected report is automatically sent back to the officer for revision and must go through the steps of review until the report is accepted in the system.

Crash timeliness performance measures are included in the Traffic Records Strategic Plan with baselines and goals.

A Crash completeness performance measure is included in the 2022 Traffic Records Strategic Plan with a goal but no baseline measure is included.

There is no integration measure. The strategic plan includes a goal to increase appropriate real-time links.

The performance goals are generally numeric for the crash system, with the exception of the integration goals which are milestones only.

Kentucky is in the process of reviewing the narratives on 20,000 crashes in an effort to cross-check the coding on the crash reports for accuracy. They did not outline a plan to use the results of this study to improve data accuracy, either through additional edits, updated training, or improved manuals.

No periodic sample-based audits are conducted of Kentucky's crash reports. Such audits might determine if any agency or type of crash results in more errors than average.

An annual TRCC meeting provides data quality feedback to data collectors and data managers. The TRSP team reaches out to each data liaison quarterly.

The Division of Driver Licensing of the Department of Vehicle Regulation within the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has the custodial responsibility for the Kentucky driver data system. The driver license system includes commercially licensed drivers and resides in a single location.

The original permit, licensing, and endorsement issuance dates are kept on the Kentucky driver data system only for five years. The driver data system maintains a 'history activity file' that can be accessed for the duration of the driver record. It was not clear if the original issuance dates are available in this file and how is this file associated with the driver data system.

Kentucky does not have a data dictionary with data definitions documented for each data field. The Commonwealth provided a sample of the COBOL copybook program that shows some details related to some driver system data fields and their characteristics. However, this is not sufficient evidence of the data dictionary for the Kentucky driver system.

The driver data system has edit checks and data collection guidelines, as evident from the sample page from the COBOL program that was provided.

Kentucky does not maintain documentation on procedures regarding licensing, permitting, and endorsement issuance, as well as reporting and recording of convictions and other information relevant to the driver system. The Commonwealth maintains a “guidance for standard issuance”, which shows insufficient and limited information on the issuance procedures. Kentucky does not maintain any documentation regarding reporting and recording of convictions and other information relevant to the driver system.

The Commonwealth has procedures in place to amend court abstract convictions. However, Kentucky does not have documentation that describes this and other error correction procedures for all driver data system processes. The Commonwealth provided the court abstract correction report, which does not provide details about the update of the amended conviction abstract on a driver records.

Kentucky does not have the authority to impose administrative license suspensions based on a DUI arrest.

Kentucky has established thorough procedures for detecting attempts of internal fraud by individual users or examiners, such as continuous monitoring and tracking activities of all driver system users through an activity log that is also reviewed by management. Any suspicious activity is further investigated. The Commonwealth also has the Fraud section that is focused on more thorough review and investigation.

The Commonwealth does not have established electronic transfer of the driver history record to other States. Kentucky mails the printed copy of the driver history record when a driver moves to a new State upon the driver's request. Electronic transfers only apply to CDL drivers whose records are transferred through CDLIS.

Kentucky uses Idemia facial recognition prior to issuing a credential using a one-to-one match. The photo is also compared to the last 4 photos.

Kentucky did not provide any policies or procedures for maintaining appropriate system and information security. Federal background checks are performed on new hires and appropriate system and information security is documented for outside agencies needing access to driver data through the use of an MOU, which was provided.

The Commonwealth updates information on crash involvement on a driver's record.

Kentucky utilizes the Problem Driver Pointer System (PDPS), the Commercial Driver Licensing System (CDLIS), the Social Security Online Verification (SSOLV) system, and the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlement (SAVE) system. However, it is not known how the driver data system interfaces with the PDPS, CDLIS, SSOLV, and SAVE for licensing commercial and non-commercial drivers on both original issuances and renewals.

Authorized court personnel have access to the driver system, since historically the Circuit Clerks were the issuing authority for the driver license. The Commonwealth is in the process of transitioning the issuing authority to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which is expected to be completed in 2022. The Administrative Office of the Courts and Circuit Clerks will continue to have the same access to the driver system. Kentucky should create a documented process for court personnel to obtain access to the driver data system, once they are no longer the issuing authority.

The driver data system has edit checks and validation rules to ensure entered data falls within a range of acceptable values and is logically consistent among data elements. A limited example of such edit checks or validation rules was provided.

Kentucky provided the 2017-2021 TRSP which contains an accuracy performance measure for the percent of drivers’ files with SSN verified using the social security online verification system (SSOLV) with a goal of 100 percent over 5 years. The Commonwealth did not provide any actual measure during this time frame. If Kentucky can provide the actual measures for this performance measure it would improve this rating. The current 2022-2026 TRSP has an accuracy performance measure to correct data entry keying mistakes. The accuracy measure has a goal to reduce the percentage not corrected and a baseline metric of 5 percent on in-state on initial entry of record. Kentucky needs to track the actual measurements to ensure the goal is being reached.

The two recent versions of the Kentucky Traffic Records Strategic Plan include the following uniformity performance measures for the driver data system: 1) Percent of ICD Version 6.0 compliant data elements in driver system; and 2) current and comprehensive data dictionary (part of Real ID). However, actual values for these measures were not included. Also, the second measure does not appear to be an adequate measure of the uniformity of the driver data system as defined in the Advisory.

The two recent versions of the Kentucky Traffic Records Strategic Plan include the following accessibility performance measures for the driver data system: 1) Number of users accessing traffic records data; and 2) Appropriate users accessing traffic records data. The second performance measure is from the 2022-2026 plan, and it includes a goal and the current baseline metric. However, this measure and its goal, and the current baseline metric are not well defined to show measurable progress in accessibility over time. Also, actual values for these measures were not included.

The detection of high-frequency errors that are reported by staff and legislative changes are used to update training and validation rules as necessary. Kentucky does not have any standardized processes for tracking errors and updating training manuals, validation rules, or prompt rule revisions.

Kentucky performs some analyses of the driver system data to identify anomalies over time. However, these analyses do not seem to be periodic comparative and trend analyses used to identify unexplained differences in the data across years and jurisdictions, as defined in the Advisory.

The Commonwealth provides the data quality management reports to the TRCC committee. This is reflected in the Kentucky Traffic Records Strategic Plan that was provided in this assessment related to earlier questions on performance measures. Kentucky should be commended for establishing this reporting process. Further improvements in the data quality management program, such as those that are part of the performance measures, may also improve the data quality management reports to the TRCC committee.

Kentucky validates every VIN with VINtelligence software application upon vehicle ownership change.

The vehicle system, known as AVIS (Automated Vehicle Information System), provides title information data to the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) in real-time with every title transaction.

Kentucky incorporates brand information recommended by AAMVA and/or received via NMVTIS on the vehicle record. Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) were provided for the titling of salvage, rebuilt, water-damaged, junk, and hail-damaged vehicles.

Kentucky provided a data dictionary for the current vehicle system that includes each data field. The Commonwealth also provided a detailed vehicle system flow diagram that includes many of the vehicle data elements with definitions. Kentucky is in the process of implementing KAVIS (Kentucky Vehicle Identification System) a new vehicle system, which will improve all six vehicle database attributes. A data dictionary for this new system should be created and kept current.

The authority for vehicle collection, reporting, and posting for registration, title, and title brand information is documented in Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapters 186, 186A, and 190.290-.320. Chapters 186 were provided, as well as the data dictionary for the current vehicle system. Brands include Rebuilt, Odometer Not Actual Mileage, Exceeds Mechanical Limits, Water Damage, Hail Damage, and Salvage.

The vehicle system automatically checks the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) for stolen vehicles with every title transaction. If information about a stolen vehicle is obtained from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) upon data entry into the NCIC (i.e., a presence of a Code “1”), the title will not print until the Kentucky State Police completes the investigation and provides a clearance.

Title brand history is carried forward through the use of NMVTIS and Kentucky's vehicle system maintains the previously issued brand.

The Commonwealth does not have a documented process flow annotated to show the time required to complete each step. The information on timeliness is useful to identify potential inefficiencies that need to be improved.

The Kentucky vehicle system is supported by a detailed process flowchart that includes processes for error correction and error handling.

Driver data is entered by the circuit court clerk and vehicle data is entered by the county court clerk. The Commonwealth did not provide any relevant information detailing the data entry for personal information entered into the vehicle and driver systems to determine if the same conventions are used.

The vehicle system data is not processed in real-time. Nightly batches are sent to NCIC and NMVTIS for verification before a title is issued. It does appear from the process flow diagram that was provided in previous questions that registration renewals are processed in real-time.

Kentucky has a manual notification process for assigned staff to amend errors and omissions to vehicle records.

The 2022-2026 version of the Kentucky Traffic Records Strategic Plan includes an accuracy performance measure for the vehicle data system: Percent of vehicle records with no errors in critical data elements. Kentucky is in the process of modernizing its vehicle system, which is scheduled to be operational in 2022, and will include this accuracy performance measure, its baseline value, and the performance measure goal. However, at present, there are not any actual measures or baselines established.

The 2022-2026 version of the Kentucky Traffic Records Strategic Plan includes an uniformity performance measure for the vehicle data system: Percent of NMVTIS standards-compliant elements in the system. Kentucky is in the process of modernizing its vehicle system, which is scheduled to be operational in 2022, and will include this uniformity performance measure, its baseline value, and the performance measure goal. However, at present, there are not any actual measures or baselines established.

The 2022-2026 version of the Kentucky Traffic Records Strategic Plan includes an accessibility performance measure for the vehicle data system: Number of users able to perform inquiries. Kentucky is in the process of modernizing its vehicle system, which is scheduled to be operational in 2022, and will include this accessibility performance measure, its baseline value, and the performance measure goal. However, at present, there are not any actual measures or baselines established.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is in the process of implementing the new Kentucky Vehicle Identification System (KAVIS). At this point, they do not use high-frequency errors to update the data validation procedures, vehicle data system documentation, or training material. While having a new vehicle system (KAVIS) will improve the vehicle database attributes, Kentucky should create a process to detect and track errors, which could generate updates to training or system validation rules.

The Commonwealth does not perform periodic comparative and trend analyses to identify unexplained differences in the data across years and jurisdictions within Kentucky.

Progress on the performance measures is reported to the TRCC. At present, Kentucky is working on the implementation of the new KAVIS vehicle system and the performance measures are not fully established for the system (i.e., baseline and actual values for each). However, it appears that the Commonwealth has established a routine to report to the TRCC committee on data quality management for all six components of the traffic records data, which includes the vehicle data system. Information that is reported to the TRCC is expected to be improved after the implementation of the new KAVIS system and a full establishment of the six performance measures for the system.

The Commonwealth has provided evidence of the roadway features and traffic volume information in their roadway system.

Information from the TED database, housed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which includes the roadway and traffic elements is distributed to other agencies. Kentucky State Police (KSP) receives this information and uses a derivative of the HIS route network to map the crashes.

Kentucky has listed the elements that they currently collect. They have also indicated that they have almost all elements and are just lacking the number of lanes for local roads.

The Commonwealth provided evidence of the MIRE FDEs in their data dictionary, but they do not collect all the FDEs.

The Division of Planning within the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) contracts with Area Development Districts (ADD) to collect data on local roadways. The Districts follow the procedures provided to them. The Data Management Branch (DMB) within the KYTC reviews the data before it is submitted to the Highway Information System.

Kentucky briefly described their workflow for updating new elements within the roadway enterprise system.

Kentucky provided a narrative of their process for archiving information and providing it to customers.

Kentucky indicated that the procedures are compatible and provided documentation on the collection of local roadway data.

All roadway systems reference the LRS maintained by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC).

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) maintains the statewide Linear Referencing System (LRS) within the Highway Information System (HIS). It includes all roads in the state and is updated with input from the local agencies via the Area Development Districts (ADD). This complete LRS is exported weekly and consumed by all agencies for locating information.

The HIS network and data is exported to the Transportation Enterprise Database (TED) warehouse weekly. Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and local transportation agencies can access data through multiple means over the internet.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) runs quality control reports against the Highway Information System (HIS) multiple times each week before the extraction/publication of the reporting data set. These reports are used to identify errors and check edits made during that week. KYTC provided an example report.

Kentucky described their process for error and edit checks as well as provided information on training.

Kentucky provided a performance measure for accuracy with baseline and values.

Kentucky provided uniformity performance measures with values.

Kentucky provided a performance measure for integration and has included values.

Kentucky documents its performance annually through their Improvement Plan which is shared with the TRCC.

The Department of Kentucky State Police is the responsible authority for assigning unique citation numbers. This authority is assigned under KRS 435.450 and an attachment provided the information.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety says their drivers licensing system receives disposition information from the Administrative Office of the Courts and applies it to the driver's record. No information is provided if 100 percent are sent electronically or manually. Also, there is no indication regarding appeals or whether local or municipal courts data are sent electronically.

Real-time driver and criminal records are available in Courtnet. It is unclear who has access to Courtnet and what specific data is available.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety reported that DUI convictions and traffic-related felonies are charged according to the UCR guidelines. They also reported that the Kentucky State Police reports this information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation which requires the UCR guidelines for DUI convictions. Providing specific details could have resulted in a higher rating.

All courts in Kentucky use the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) case management system. The AOC System does comply with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) guidelines for all traffic cases. However, no specific information was provided on which NCSC guidelines are used and what data meets those guidelines.

According to the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) maintains data dictionary values for the case management system. Values are stored within their internal network within a Microsoft SharePoint website. When reports are on the case management system, the appropriate portions of the data dictionary are attached to and provided along with the report results. No documentary example of a data dictionary was provided which could have resulted in a higher rating.

The AOC maintains data dictionary values for their case management system, but no proof of a data dictionary was provided. While not exactly the advisory ideal, the outcome does result in having data dictionary values when reporting on the case management system is generated.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety reported that there is no single document data dictionary for the citation system to make the indications.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety reported that there is no single standalone system. Needed data is stored in the systems to track a citation from the point of issuance, into the case management system, and then into the driver record. The Commonwealth's ability to track citations from the point of issuance to posting on the driver file does exist but they did not provide the necessary evidence to receive a higher rating.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety reported that results of the adjudication are recorded on the driver file but no documentation of the system for tracking administrative driver penalties and sanctions, demonstrating how administrative actions are filed and how the required penalties or sanctions are processed and tracked by the court was provided.

The Commonwealth reported that the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) case management system, tracks all dismissals, and the AOC provides all this information. If the number of deferrals and dismissals had been provided by the AOC, this question would have received a higher rating.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety did indicate that there are processes for retaining, archiving, or purging citation records and they are defined and documented. However, they indicated that documentation is not available at this time.

The Commonwealth reported that there is tracking of impaired driving data by the AOC but provided no information or documentation that it uses some or all the data elements or guidelines of NHTSA's Model Impaired Driving Records Information System (MIDRIS). This provides a central point of access for DUI Driver information from the time of the stop/arrest through adjudication, sanctions, rehabilitation, prosecution, and posting to the driver history file.

The Office of Highway Safety's response stated that the citation system does interface with the driver system. However, no further evidence or narrative documentation was provided to successfully assess if the interfaced information is used to help determine the applicable charges. Providing the identification of the portal and the data elements used could have resulted in a more favorable rating.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety reported that citation information is stored in the crash data system but did not clarify that citation system interfaces with the crash system, and how the citation system interfaces with the crash system to document violations and charges related to the crash.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety indicated that the statewide case system operated by the Administrative Office of the Courts does not keep details regarding vehicles. The connection between the adjudication and the vehicle systems is through the driver licensing system. The court sends case disposition information to the Driver's License System and drivers licensing personnel can then manage information concerning ignition interlock devices.

No timeliness measures provided. A baseline of 2.73 days was referenced, but no explanation of what that is a baseline for.

The Office of Highway Safety reported that, at present, no completeness performance measures tailored to the needs of citation systems managers and data users have been developed. They hope to develop them in the future.

No integration performance measures tailored to the needs of citation systems managers and data users have been developed. They hope to develop performance measures in the future.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety indicated that there are performance metrics for timeliness, uniformity, and accessibility. In order to assess this performance measure, it requires examples of evidence of specific State-determined numeric goals associated with each performance measure in use. None were provided in response to this question.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety reported that they have the accuracy performance measure to address accuracy for the adjudication system with a baseline established of 99.8% within their 2022-2026 Highway Safety Plan. It was submitted as evidence.

The Office of Highway Safety reported that, at this time, there is not an established or planned performance measure identified at this time for addressing the uniformity of the adjudication system.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety reported that, at this time, there are no accessibility performance measures tailored to the needs of adjudication systems managers and data users. They reported that they hope to develop performance measures in the future.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety reported that there is not a standalone DUI tracking system.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety reported that progress on performance measures is reported to the TRCC in an Annual Report. The Commonwealth did not provide a copy or sample of the report.

There are no other databases used to quantify the burden of motor vehicle crashes in Kentucky.

The Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services maintains the commonwealth-wide EMS database, the Kentucky State Ambulance Reporting System (K-STARS).

The EMS data has been requested, obtained, and used by the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center at the University of Kentucky. Analyses were presented in the 2020 annual report of the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services.

The EMS System, K-STARS, has a data dictionary.

The EMS data is available to external users through an Open Records Request. The 2020 EMS Annual Report provides the number of requests KBEMS responded to.

All EMS records submitted to the Kentucky State Ambulance Reporting System (KSTARS) must pass a minimum validation test. If a record does not pass validation, it is rejected and the submitting EMS agency must monitor the status of imported records. Agencies using the KSTARS program for direct data entry have additional, logical, validation rules they must meet. Rather than being "returned," records that fail the validation tests are "rejected."

The responsibility for monitoring the status of rejected records falls to the submitting agency. No information as to whether the Commonwealth also monitors the resubmission of rejected records was provided.

The Accuracy Performance Measure is the percent of EMS records with no errors in a critical data element (occupant restraint usage or other data element). The baseline given shows 89% report occupant restraint. Because occupant restraint only applies to a fraction of all EMS run it is not clear how this performance measure is tailored to the needs of the data owner. It is also not clear how reporting occupant restraint usage automatically implies that it is accurate. This performance measure could be considered for tracking completeness.

The 2017-2021 Plan defined a uniformity measure: the percent of records in the Kentucky Emergency Medical Services Information System (KEMSIS) that are NEMSIS-compliant. Since all EMS records in this system must pass through the national Schematron validation of process prior to being accepted, passing Schematron validation ensures 100% NEMSIS-compliance uniformity across the national mandatory elements in KEMSIS.

There are plans to develop data sharing agreements to increase the accessibility of the EMS data system but no accessibility performance measures were provided.

Quality control reviews of the EMS data system are not regularly conducted.

Kentucky does not actively solicit feedback from the major users of EMS data.

The Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) is responsible for collecting and compiling the Kentucky Health Facility and Services data, which includes both the Inpatient and Outpatient data sets.

The response indicates that the emergency department database is available but does not provide examples of how it has been used to identify problems, evaluate programs, or allocate resources.

The Kentucky Hospital Association collects and compiles emergency department visits.

The Cabinet for Health and Family Services collects and compiles the Kentucky Health Facility and Services data, which contain the inpatient database.

The response indicates the inpatient database is available for analysis but no examples of how it was used to identify problems, evaluate programs, or allocate resources have been provided.

The Kentucky Hospital Association collects data from hospital discharge records from individual hospitals.

Both the outpatient and inpatient files contain the information to derive AIS and ISS. Evidence that this is happening was not provided.

The data submission manual for the Kentucky Inpatient and Outpatient Data Collection System (KY IPOP) lists the automated edit checks and validation rules that are applied to submitted data.

The performance measure provided in the response is related to the EMS data system. Timeliness performance measures for the hospital data were not provided.

The responses reference the trauma registry rather than either the outpatient or inpatient data systems.

There are no integration performance measures for the Inpatient and Outpatient Data Collection System.

The responses reference the trauma registry rather than the Inpatient and Outpatient Data Collection System.

Information regarding a process for gathering feedback from users of the Inpatient and Outpatient data was not provided.

The Kentucky Trauma Registry is fully described in its 2020 Annual Report, written by the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC).

The Kentucky Trauma System Evaluation 2016 used Trauma Registry data to examine disparity in motor vehicle crash death rates related to trauma center designations. The report was described in the response and attached to the 2017 Assessment. An example of the Trauma Registry being used in this fashion in the past five years was not provided or described.

While the response appears to reference the death certificates file, AIS and ISS are listed elements in the Trauma Registry Data Dictionary which was provided for a different question.

It was reported that aggregate trauma registry data is available to outside parties "via request to KIPRC." An annual report, written by the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center and containing aggregate data, was provided. No description was provided of the procedure that a researcher might use to request custom aggregate trauma registry data for particular analyses.

Trauma centers are notified of rejected submissions and are required to fix the errors and resubmit.

While not specifically stated in the response, the 2022 Strategic Plan states the the goal is to reduce the number of errors by registrars and trauma staff. The plan is to accomplish the goal through increased training. A performance measure should be a tool used to gauge the performance of a specific system. One example of a way to rephrase this performance measure would be to assess the error rate on critical fields such as cause codes, personal identifiers needed for billing or linkage, or vital signs and other fields needed to assess the performance of the trauma system. Training is a means for improving data quality but does not directly gauge the performance of the trauma registry data system. For examples of performance measures for each data system please see NHTSA's Model Performance Measures for State Traffic Records Systems.

The response did not provide any evidence of having defined and used a performance measure of the degree to which Trauma Registry records uniformity conform to a national standard. In this case, that would be conformity to the National Trauma Data Standard.

The Strategic Plan lists the accessibility performance measure to be to increase the number of users of the trauma registry. The baseline number of users is not included in the measure making it hard to track improvements.

The Commonwealth conducted an extensive review of its quality control measures and procedures for key data systems, including its Trauma Registry. The review was documented in "2021 Progress Reports for Databases in the 2018-2021 Traffic Records Improvement Plan."

Trauma Registry data quality management reports are not shared with the TRCC.

The vital records database is used to track the frequency of motor vehicle fatalities. The report "Kentucky Injury Indicators" uses mortality data to put motor vehicle-related deaths in the context of other causes of death and as crude rates, by age and sex groupings.

The vital records data system has a formal data dictionary.

Several edit checks and validation rules are written into the electronic system. A compiled list of all data specifications has not been created.

Data quality management reports from the vital records system are not provided to the TRCC.

The response indicates there are efforts to link the EMS and trauma registry data. Note the Advisory makes an distinction between an interface and integration (linkage). An interface between the EMS and trauma registry data systems was not described.

Kentucky does not have a data governance process.

There is an interface between the crash and driver data systems to facilitate data entry but an integration of the two data systems that enables analyses does not exist.

The crash and roadway files are integrated based on route and mile marker. A report evaluating the Strategic Highway Investment Formula for Tomorrow (SHIFT) was provided as evidence.

A project by the Universities of Louisville and Kentucky has developed record linkage methodologies and processes that integrate crash, trauma registry, and EMS data. Another project is integrating crash data with injury surveillance data (emergency department and inpatient hospitalization records, trauma registry data, and emergency medical services' patient care reports) for the specific purpose of describing and investigating occupational motor vehicle crash-related injuries.

Kentucky does not have any data integration programs that do not involve crash data. All of its past and present data integration programs are built around the police-reported crash data.

The Kentucky Transportation Center at the University of Kentucky offers a data request service. The service is available to anyone and is said to include data integration work. However, the data request summary provided does not address the availability of integrated data. No information was provided on which datasets can be or are integrated and available. No information was provided on user-friendly access tools for analyses using integrated datasets.