Issue
Some of the fields in the collision, vehicle, or casualty fields are blank – what does this mean?
For example:
Solution
The STATS19 2024 format allows numerous fields to be [SPACE] or blank. These can have various meanings, depending on the field, for example:
For some fields, [SPACE] or blank may have several meanings, e.g. 2.34 Driving licence appropriate for vehicle
The Department for Transport (DfT) STATS21 document gives the following possibilities:
Unfortunately, [SPACE] or blank may also mean that the field has simply not been completed when the record was first created.
Unless the DfT provides a mechanism to differentiate whether [SPACE] or blank means not applicable, unknown, withheld, not collected, etc. or not completed whilst compiling the record, KeyACCIDENT has no way of knowing why a particular field is [SPACE] or blank.
A [SPACE] or blank within these fields will, therefore, always be displayed in KeyACCIDENT as blank. We will not assume that [SPACE] or blank may have another meaning