What the Data Tells Us

See what the crash data tells us about road users in Surrey.

A look at Surrey crash data

What if we stopped to ask ourselves: “How many people killed or seriously injured in traffic would be acceptable in my family?”

In 2018, Surrey’s traffic deaths totalled 21. These are not numbers on a page but real people. Our mothers, husbands, children and friends, neighbours and co-workers. Beyond the tragedy of these deaths about 12,000 people suffer from injuries annually.

This is unacceptable. It is time we take action through data driven and evidence-based decisions. Vision Zero Surrey will prioritize resourcing in areas facing the most risk and among those most at risk of being killed or seriously injured.

We can get to Zero by focussing efforts on Surrey’s Victims of Harm, Locations of Harm, and Perpetrators of Harm, identified through data analysis and community partnership.

Our focus areas

We have identified five focus areas through collision data analysis, public engagement and Council direction. Representing the City’s Victims of Harm (pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists), Locations of Harm (intersections) and Perpetrators of Harm (high-risk driving).

Hot spot map

Our Hot Spot Map below highlights locations in Surrey with a high frequency of severe crashes. These severe crashes are often called killed and seriously injured (KSI) collisions. The concentrated nature of Surrey’s collisions provides us with clear direction on where the City’s Locations of Harm are. View map as PDF.

Additional analysis from collision data also shows that:

  • Some road users are more likely to be killed or injured in KSI collisions, our Victims of Harm
  • Certain dangerous road user behaviours contribute to a large proportion of KSI collisions, our Perpetrators of Harm

Victims of harm stats

  • Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists account for 50% of Surrey’s KSI collisions
  • 65% of Surrey’s serious crashes occur on just 5% of our streets
  • 80% of Surrey’s KSI collisions occur at intersections
  • High risk driving behaviours are a contributing factor in about 66% of Surrey’s KSI crashes

Injuries over the years

  • Between 2008 and 2017 2,400 pedestrians were killed or injured on Surrey’s roads (ICBC Collision Data)
  • Between 2008 and 2017 1,000 cyclists were killed or injured on Surrey’s roads (ICBC Collision Data)
  • Between 2008 and 2017 750 motorcyclists were killed or injured on Surrey’s roads (ICBC Collision Data)
  • In 2017 alone, over 9,000 people were killed or injured at a Surrey intersection (ICBC Collision Data)
  • Distracted driving contributes to 33%, Speeding contributes to 18%, and Impaired driving contributes to 16% of KSI collisions in Surrey (TAS Collision Data)

Equity

Certain subgroups of the population suffer disproportionately on our roads. We will ensure that equity is embedded within our decision-making for each of the focus areas above.

How we get & use our data

Data is essential for Vision Zero Surrey to address our most critical road safety issues and key focus areas. It ensures we are putting our resources where they will have the most impact. We use data throughout our road safety processes, including:

  1. To determine our high collision areas. We compile collision data from various sources to focus attention on the most serious collisions. With support from our GIS team, the data is mapped to help us prioritize locations with the most serious road safety issues.
  2. To improve our understanding of the City’s collision trends. We integrate our collision data with other City datasets to enhance our understanding of collision trends in Surrey. By incorporating information on traffic volumes, road classifications, traffic signal and streetlight locations, speed limits, and other key datasets into our crash analysis, we can develop deeper insights into crash patterns in Surrey.
  3. To evaluate our progress. We monitor crash trends as we receive updated crash data to determine whether we are progressing towards our Vision Zero goal. We also monitor the effectiveness of specific interventions by looking at how crash patterns change from before implementation to after.

All our crash datasets are provided to us by external organizations. The external agency data is shared with the City of Surrey under strict data sharing agreements. It is used for detailed collision analysis which informs the location and nature of our investments. The data provides information on:

  • pre-collision road user behaviours;
  • key contributing factors;
  • date, time, and location; and
  • other data elements that help us build location specific crash profiles.

They do not contain any personally identifiable information and are stored securely.

Key crash datasets

Our key crash datasets include:

  1. Traffic Accident System: Contains records of police attended crashes
  2. Insurance Corporation of British Columbia Claim Data: Contains records of crashes where an insurance claim was made with ICBC
  3. Surrey Fire Department Data: Contains records of crashes attended by Surrey Fire Services

Our Vision Zero success depends on accurate data analysis. Any analysis results that are shared publicly are the result of significant time and effort by our road safety engineers, GIS analysts, and collision data experts. We also work closely with local universities to ensure we use state-of-the-art methodologies and obtain reliable, accurate results.