There are 72 classifications of crashes and loss-of-control incidents used by accident investigators and police.
Diagrams are used to quickly describe the accident, and these are published with a guide by NZTA for how to code crashes.
The motion or action of the vehicles in the crash can be augmented with information about any other factors such as the type and quality of signage, the state of the driver (e.g. drunk), environmental factors such as whether sun strike played a part, the condition of the road, the condition of the vehicle and more.
Overtaking and lane change
Pulling out or changing lane to the right – the vehicle moves from the left lane to the right lane on a dual carriageway, or pulls out from the kerb
Head on – overtaking or drifting out of the lane into the opposing lane
Cutting in or changing lane to the left – not ensuring that you’re completely past the vehicle you’re overtaking
Lost control overtaking vehicle – sometimes the acceleration and extra speed required for overtaking can cause a driver to lose control
Side road – a vehicle emerges from a side road while another vehicle is overtaking on the main road
Lost control being overtaken – a vehicle overtakes you and you lose control
Weaving in heavy traffic – a vehicle changes lanes frequently to try to get ahead in heavy traffic and causes an incident.
Head on
On straight – where the road is fundamentally straight
Cutting corner – on a right-hand bend, crossing the centre line
Swinging wide – on a left-hand bend, leaving the left lane
Both or unknown
Lost control on straight
Lost control on curve
Lost control or off road (straight roads)
Out of control on roadway – spins or otherwise loses control but stays on the road
Off roadway to left – drives off the road to the left
Off roadway to right – drives off the road to the right
Cornering
Lost control turning right
Lost control turning left
Missed intersection or end of road
Collision with obstruction
Parked vehicle – the vehicle is stopped, but not in traffic
Accident or broken down – i.e. colliding with another vehicle that’s already crashed or has broken down
Non-vehicular obstructions (including animals) – this includes items in the road such as rockfall or that have fallen off other vehicles
Workman’s vehicle – this could include maintenance vehicles attending to the road or power lines
Opening door – a parked vehicle’s door is opened and you hit it
Rear end
Slow vehicle – you didn’t notice the vehicle ahead was driving slowly
Cross traffic – the vehicle is stopped to wait for other traffic crossing from the left or right
Pedestrian – the vehicle hits a pedestrian
Queue – the vehicle runs into the back of another vehicle in a queue of traffic
Signals – you hit another vehicle waiting at traffic lights
Other
Turning versus same direction
Rear of left-turning vehicle – you didn’t notice the vehicle was turning
Left side side-swipe – the other vehicle turns across in front of you from the left, e.g. it’s a truck that had to swing out wide to turn left
Stopped or turning from left side – a vehicle pulling out from the left side intending drive into a side road
Near centre line – a vehicle is turning right at the centre line and you run into it
Overtaking vehicle – you are overtaking a vehicle in the opposing lane and it turns right
Two turning – both vehicles are turning and one hits the other
Crossing (no turns)
Right angle (70-110 degrees) – side impact at a t-intersection
Crossing (vehicle turning)
Right turn right side – impact with a vehicle from your left turning across in front of you while you want to go straight ahead
Two turning – you are turning right into a terminating road and the other vehicle is turning right out of the terminating road of a t-intersection, or vice versa
Merging
Left turn in – another vehicle joins the road from the left
Right turn in – another vehicle joins the road from the right
Two turning – one vehicle turns left and the other turns right into the same lane
Right turn against
Stopped waiting to turn – a vehicle waiting to make a right-hand turn is hit
Making turn – a vehicle turning right pulls across in front of an opposing vehicle going straight ahead
Manoeuvring
Parking or leaving
U-turn – a vehicle doing a u-turn in front of you either from the other side of the road or your side of the road
Driveway manoeuvre
Parking opposite – a vehicle trying to get into a car park on your side of the road from the opposing side
Angle parking – a vehicle reversing out of an angle park
Reversing along road
Pedestrians crossing road
Left side – pedestrians stepping into the road from the left
Right side – pedestrians stepping into the road from the right
Left turn left side – pedestrians walking along a footpath and you turn into them
Right turn right side – pedestrians walking along a footpath and you turn into them
Left turn right side – pedestrians walking along a footpath and you turn into them
Right turn left side – pedestrians walking along a footpath and you turn into them
Manoeuvring vehicle – other manoeuvres
Pedestrians other
Walking with traffic – pedestrian is walking the same direction as the traffic
Walking facing traffic – pedestrian is walking in the opposite direction as the traffic
Walking on footpath
Child playing (tricycle)
Attending to vehicle – pedestrian is hit while doing something with their vehicle, e.g. removing shopping
Entering or leaving vehicle – a person getting into or out of their vehicle is hit
Miscellaneous
Fell while boarding or alighting
Fell from moving vehicle
Train – vehicle hits the train or vice versa
Parked vehicle ran away – e.g. handbrake failed
Equestrian – a horse was hit
Fell inside vehicle
Trailer or load – e.g. a trailer jackknifes or overturns.