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India's growing trend of serious road accidents has created an urgent need to understand the primary factors involved in these crashes and in the resulting severe injuries and fatalities. In order to improve the safety of highways and automobiles for all road users, a consortium of safety researchers and vehicle manufacturers has come together to collect first-hand, detailed and consistent crash and injury data for traffic accidents on Indian roads. After three years of pilot studies, a methodology, called Road Accident Sampling System - India (RASSI), has been developed for conducting on-site crash investigations and collecting in-depth accident data on road accidents in India. The processes developed under RASSI to investigate onsite crashes and collect quality accident data suitable for detailed analysis are described. The program includes all types of traffic accidents with injury outcomes.

With the support and cooperation of the Kanchipuram district police and Tamil Nadu police, researchers conducted detailed investigations of accidents occurring on the National Highway 45 over a 60 km stretch. The primary objective was to collect and analyze India-based traffic crash data to begin to create a sound basis for decision making for improving safety on India's roadways. A secondary objective was to establish a standardized methodology using economical tools for collecting and analyzing crash data, specific to Indian roads. For the 45 day study period, an accident intimation network was established between researchers and all police stations/highway patrols in the study area. On occurrence of an accident, police called a 24-hour contact number and researchers responded to the scene. On site, researchers used standardized reporting forms, methodologies, and equipment to perform accident scene examinations, accident vehicle examination, and AIS injury coding.

India is facing the challenge of reducing road accident fatalities, which claim close to 100,000 lives every year. Road infrastructure is slowly improving, but the number of vehicles on the road is rising fast and so is the number of road accidents, which continue to increase year after year. The data collected by law enforcement agencies is not detailed enough to identify causes and develop solutions. Traffic accidents need to be investigated in detail to include specifics concerning crash location, vehicle damage and injuries sustained by road users. The development of such a detailed database requires the co-operation of a number of government and private organizations associated with road traffic collisions. The foundation for data collection activities is a road traffic accident notification network that enables access to accident details, crashed vehicles, and injury reports in a timely manner.