A NEW system to log and analyse information on car crashes could be help improve safety on North Yorkshire's roads.

The Collision Recording And Sharing (CRASH) system collects information about road collisions from police forces around the country, and will be used to help pinpoint accident blackspots.

This information will then be used to help the Department for Transport, Highways England and local authorities work together to improve the safety of their roads in local regions.

Rollout of the system began last week, and was built for the Home Office and Department for Transport by IPL, but it is not yet clear whether North Yorkshire County Council or North Yorkshire Police will adopt the system.

Honor Byford from North Yorkshire County Council's road safety team said the authority had not yet made a decision about the system, but they work closely with North Yorkshire Police "to obtain and analyse the most accurate data possible", about road crashes and casualties across the county.

She said: "It is vital to our engineering and education work to know as much as possible about where, when and why collisions occur so that we can address the causes and so reduce these avoidable events. Enforcement of road traffic laws is a vital part this too and we welcome the introduction of more effective systems that support the police and us in this work."

North Yorkshire Police said they could not yet confirm whether they would adopt the system, which pulls in data from the DVLA and the Police National Computer System, meaning officers now only need to input the registration of the vehicle involved - previously they may have needed to input the make, model, colour and owner’s details.

Simon Catley, services director at IPL, said: "As well as saving police time and taxpayer money, it will help the Department for Transport and local councils build a safer road network, which will benefit everyone in the country."