This dataset contains information about vehicles (or units as they are identified in crash reports) involved in a traffic crash. This dataset should be used in conjunction with the traffic Crash and People dataset available in the portal. “Vehicle” information includes motor vehicle and non-motor vehicle modes of transportation, such as bicycles and pedestrians. Each mode of transportation involved in a crash is a “unit” and get one entry here. Each vehicle, each pedestrian, each motorcyclist, and each bicyclist is considered an independent unit that can have a trajectory separate from the other units. However, people inside a vehicle including the driver do not have a trajectory separate from the vehicle in which they are travelling and hence only the vehicle they are travelling in get any entry here. This type of identification of “units” is needed to determine how each movement affected the crash. Data for occupants who do not make up an independent unit, typically drivers and passengers, are available in the People table. Many of the fields are coded to denote the type and location of damage on the vehicle. Vehicle information can be linked back to Crash data using the “CRASH_RECORD_ID” field. Since this dataset is a combination of vehicles, pedestrians, and pedal cyclists not all columns are applicable to each record. Look at the Unit Type field to determine what additional data may be available for that record.

The Chicago Police Department reports crashes on IL Traffic Crash Reporting form SR1050. The crash data published on the Chicago data portal mostly follows the data elements in SR1050 form. The current version of the SR1050 instructions manual with detailed information on each data elements is available here.

Change 11/21/2023: We have removed the RD_NO (Chicago Police Department report number) for privacy reasons.