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Benzon appointed to national FARS coding committee

Joan Benzon was recently appointed to the national Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Coding Committee. She has worked as Idaho’s FARS analyst for nearly seven years in the Office of Highway Operations and Safety.

The Coding Committee is responsible for improving overall FARS data collection activities, evaluating training and computer systems, developing training materials and techniques for use at system-wide training or in the FARS standard training course.

“We can trace many enhancements in the FARS system operation and training directly to the work and ideas of the FARS Coding Committee,” said TrisAnn Jodon, FARS regional operation manager.

Benzon’s duties as Idaho’s FARS analyst include entering information into the national FARS database of fatal crashes. The statistical information from this database is used to provide an overall measure of highway safety -- helping to identify traffic safety problems, suggest solutions, and evaluate the effectiveness of motor vehicle safety standards and highway safety programs.

She will attend the annual Coding Committee meeting in Dearborn, Mich., in June.