Factors associated with crash severities in built-up areas along rural highways of Nevada: A case study of 11 towns (original) (raw)
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International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion, 2019
This study identifies and compares those risk factors affecting crash injuries and fatalities on rural freeways in Montana and West Virginia in the United States using the mixed logit model. Three-year crashes on rural freeway segments in both states are used. Higher annual average daily traffic (AADT) was associated with a reduction in injuries/fatalities in both states, with higher reduction in West Virginia (40%) than in Montana (25%). In both states, the impact of adverse road surface conditions (i.e., snowy/icy) was associated with a reduction in injuries/fatalities. The results show that separate injury severity models for individual states are suggested instead of lumping all crashes in one model. Enforcement of trucks' risky maneuvers (e.g., illegal traveling in the leftmost lane) and more education for older drivers are suggested in West Virginia. In Montana, it is recommended to monitor rural freeway segments with high sport utility vehicle (SUV) crash history.
Identification of Factors Leading to High Severity of Crashes in Rural Areas
Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, 2010
This study made an effort to identify critical factors contributing to increased crash severities on rural highways. Crash data from the Kansas Accident Reporting System (KARS) database was analyzed and crash severity was modeled using ordered choice models. Many driver-related factors, such as alcohol involvement, lack of seat belt usage, excessive speed, and driver ejections because of the crash contribute to the increased severity of crashes in rural areas. Also, severities of singlevehicle crashes are higher than two-vehicle and animal-vehicle crashes. Factors related to roadway geometry such as sharp curves and steep grades are also found to contribute to the increased crash severity in rural areas.
Effect of Speed Limit Increase on Crash Rate on Rural Two-Lane Highways in Louisiana
2006
This study investigated the impact of a speed limit increase on the crash rate on rural twolane roads in Louisiana. The Louisiana crash database for 1999-2004 was used to compare rates of different crash severities and types before and after a speed limit change on rural roads during the observation period. The comparison was made among homogeneous data groups established using a classification procedure that sought to control as many of the other factors contributing to the high crash rate on rural two-lane roads as possible. The natural trend in crash rates was observed by first dividing the road sections in the data into both those that had experienced a speed limit change in the last five years and those that had not, and then observing the crash trend among those that had not had any speed limit change. The speed limit change group was divided into before and after speed change sections, and the after speed change crash rate values were adjusted for any significant trend in the corresponding no speed limit change cases. These final before and after crash rate values adjusted for the trend were compared statistically to test the null hypothesis that crash rate does not increase with speed limit increase. Based on the results, the null hypothesis that an increase in speed limit had no impact on crash rate was rejected for 6 out of the 39 cases at the 5 percent level of significance. The cases that were found to be significantly affected by an increase in speed limit included run off road, rear-end, and single-vehicle crashes involving no impact with another object or impact with a fixed object, animal, cyclist, or pedestrian.
Journal of Modern Transportation, 2014
This paper presents a current investigation into crash experience along a 15.7-mile rural corridor in southwest Montana with the aim of better understanding crash causal factors along the corridor. The study utilized ten years of crash data, geometric data, and observed freeflow speed data along the corridor. A systematic approach was used where every tenth of a mile was described in term of the crash experience, speed, alignment, and roadside features. Using bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses, the study investigated the crash experience along the corridor as well as some of the underlying relationships which could explain some of the crash causal factors. Results show a strong association between crash rates and horizontal curvatures even for flat curves that can be negotiated at speeds above the posted speed limit, per the highway design equations. Higher crash rates were also found to be associated with the difference between the observed free-flow speeds and the speed dictated by the curve radius or sight distance as per the design equations. Further, results strongly support the safety benefits of guardrails as evidenced by the lower crash rates and severities. The presence of fixed objects and the steepness of side slopes were also found to have an effect on crash rates and severities.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Fatal, pedestrian-involved, motor vehicle collisions are increasing in the United States yet remain lower in rural states such as West Virginia. This study’s purpose was to investigate the overall risk factors of pedestrian fatalities by rurality and sex in West Virginia. Data were obtained from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The fatality had to occur within West Virginia between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2019. Risk factors of rural vs. urban and male vs. female crashes were determined using multivariable logistic regression models. Clustering of crash locations was analyzed using kernel density estimation and Ripley’s K. Among the 254 fatalities, most victims were male (70%). Most crashes occurred at night (76%), on highways (73%), on level (71%), non-curved (84%), dry (82%) roads during fair weather conditions (82%). Nearly 34% of the victims tested positive for alcohol. Men were 2.5 times as likely to be hit in a rural area (OR = 2.5; 95% CI 1.2, 5.4), on curved roa...
Factors Influencing the Severity of Crashes Caused by Motorcyclists: Analysis of Data from Alabama
The number of motorcycle crashes in Alabama more than doubled from 1999 to 2008, while the number of fatal motorcycle crashes tripled during the same period. Most work on motorcycle crash severity has been based on analysis of all crashes involving motorcycles. The majority of motorcycle crashes in Alabama are cause by the motorcyclist. An analysis of factors affecting the injury severity outcome of motorcycle causal crashes is presented. The analysis uses a multinomial logit (MNL) regression model to examine 5 years (2006 to 2010) of crash data. The variables affecting motorcycle crashes were grouped by common characteristics into four categories: motorcyclist, crash, environment, and roadway. Average direct pseudoelasticities were obtained to interpret the factors influencing motorcyclist-caused crashes (MCCs) severity. With some 70% of motorcycles crashes in Alabama resulting in some type of injury, there is potential for positive impact on safety from policies and programs that address the behavior-related crashes identified in this study. In addition to reducing behaviors considered as aggressive, it would appear that considerable safety benefit could be derived from efforts to alter motorcyclist behavior in the vicinity of large vehicles, around roadway curves, and in rural areas.
Identification of Countermeasures to Reduce Severity of Rural Highway Crashes
This report presents the details of an investigation aimed at finding potential countermeasures to enhance safety of rural highways by identifying critical factors contributing towards higher severity of crashes. Crash data from KARS (Kansas Accident Reporting System) database was analyzed and crash severity was modeled using several statistical modeling approaches. These approaches comprised of ordered choice (ordered probit and ordered logit) and loglinear models.
Evaluating adverse rural crash outcomes using the NHTSA State Data
The population-based rate of motor vehicle crash mortality is consistently higher in rural locations, but it is unclear how much of this disparity might be due to geographic barriers or deficiencies in emergency medical services (EMS). We sought to analyze separately factors associated with the occurrence of a severe injury and those associated with death after injury had occurred. Methods: Data from all police-reported crashes in 11 states from 2005-2007 were obtained through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) State Data System (SDS). Logistic regression was used to estimate factors associated with (1) death; (2) severe (incapacitating or fatal) injury; and (3) death given severe injury. Models included covariates related to the person, vehicle, and event; county location was specified using Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC). Results: Older age, not wearing a belt, ejection, alcohol involvement, high speed, and early morning times were associated with increased risk of both severe injury and death. Controlling for these factors, and restricting analysis to persons who had suffered a severe injury, the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) associated with death was higher for counties classified rural (RUCC 6-7, aOR 1.23, 95% CI 1.16-1.31) or very rural (RUCC 8-9, aOR 1.31, 95% CI 1.18-1.46). Conclusions: Persons severely injured in crashes are more likely to die if they are in rural locations, possibly due to EMS constraints. As NHTSA-SDS data become more available and more uniform, they may be useful to explore specific factors contributing to this increased risk.
This second in a series of CERS research reports summarizes the characteristics of the fatal rural roadway crashes within five Minnesota counties and describes some of the safety improvement programs or campaigns being used in this five-county area. Past research has shown that some of the many characteristics of fatal rural roadway crashes include younger drivers, alcohol involvement, lack of seat belt use, and speeding. The crash data summarized in this report were generally obtained from the