Netherlands-based road safety specialist VIA has used the TatukGIS Internet Server for the GIS functionality in its web-based automobile crash reporting and analysis solution - ViaStat-Online. ViaStat-Online is an all-in-one solution allowing police, municipalities, road safety/management organizations, research, and consulting firms to register, report, monitor, and analyze crash data.

The accurate reporting, monitoring and analysis of historical crash data, and the conclusions drawn from this analysis over time, are extremely valuable for setting policies and procedures such as the prioritization of road/street infrastructure investments, optimization of enforcement efforts, and targeting of groups for education/information campaigns.

ViaStat-Online is already in use by a number of organizations, including:

• Entire Dutch police force.
• Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management.
• Most cities/municipalities in the Netherlands (incl. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague).
• Various police regions in Belgium (including Antwerp).
• Police force of New Delhi and State of Gujarat in India
• Police forces and municipalities in Spain (introduction 2007).

VIA is one of the first organizations in the world to develop software for the collection and analysis of automobile crash data. The uniform registration and analysis of crash data is an essential element of the successful Dutch national road safety program which has been applied in the Netherlands since the early 1970's. This program is credited for much of the significant decrease in road fatalities in the Netherlands during the last four decades, despite a huge increase in road usage during that period. Between 1972 and 2005 annual traffic crash fatalities in the Netherlands declined by 79%.

The highly user-friendly ViaStat-Online GIS functionality (provided by the TatukGIS Internet Server) means that crash data is linked to the digital road network so that the data can be managed and presented in the form of digital maps. In addition to the various map presentation options, the GIS functionality enables more in-depth analyses using geographical selections from the map. For example, crash data can be rendered in relation to road features, such as the number of crashes in relation to speed limits. Alternatively, data relating only to specific geographical crash concentrations, routes, or map areas can be selected for in-depth analysis. Detailed information for any crash can be accessed directly via the map. Rendered map images can be exported as Word or PDF files for inclusion in consultancy reports. The digital map data itself can be exported as shape-files of various formats, e.g., *.SHP, *.MIF, *.DXF, *.GML, *.KML, etc., for use in other GIS programs.

The ViaStat-Online solution uses digital road/street map data provided by Tele Atlas, one of the world's leading companies in this area. The Tele Atlas files are dynamically loaded and displayed by the TatukGIS Internet Server so that the map shape-files only for any given zoom level and location are loaded.

Because ViaStat-Online is web-based, user system requirements are minimal. All that is required is a computer running a web browser and an internet connection of at least 56 kbs. The data is stored in a centralized and backed-up database.

For more information about ViaStat-Online, refer to: www.viastat-online.com

For more information about the TatukGIS Internet Server, refer to: www.tatukgis.com/products/is/is.aspx