Journal Article
Mouyid Islam and Anurag Pande
Aug-20
Islam, M. & Pande, A. (2020). Analysis of Single-Vehicle Roadway Departure Crashes on Rural Curved Segments Accounting for Unobserved Heterogeneity. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2674(10), 146-157.
Roadway departure crashes are one of the core emphasis areas in Strategic Highway Safety Plans (SHSP). These crashes, especially on rural roads, lead to a disproportionately higher number of fatalities and serious injuries. The focus of this study is to identify and quantify the factors affecting injury-severity outcomes for single-vehicle roadway departure (SV-RwD) crashes on rural curved segments in Minnesota. The crash data are extracted from the Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) from 2010 to 2014. This study applied a mixed logit with heterogeneity in means and variances approach to model driver-injury severity. The approach accounts for possible unobserved heterogeneity in the data resulting from driver, roadway, traffic, environmental conditions, or any combination of these attributes. This analysis adds value to the growing body of literature because it uncovers some unobserved heterogeneity in the form the attributes specific to driver-injury severities in contrast to the standard mixed logit approach. The model results indicate that there is a complex interaction of driver characteristics and actions (male drivers, aged below 30-years of age, and unsafe speed), roadway and traffic characteristics (two-lane undivided road, county roadways, and low traffic volume), environmental conditions (adverse weather, cloudy weather, dark conditions, and dry surface conditions), and vehicle characteristics (vehicle type—sport utility vehicle involved in rollover crashes). The results also provide some evidence of the effectiveness of a highway curve safety improvement program implemented in one of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (DOT) districts.
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
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HSIS Summary Reports are two to eight pages in length and include a brief description of the issue addressed, data used, methodology applied, significant results, and practical implications.
A variety of research studies have been performed using data from HSIS. Many of the final reports prepared are now available electronically.
Research reports are often summarized in executive summaries, technical briefs, or other abbreviated formats. Included here are those road safety summaries that involved research using HSIS data.
In addition to conducting research, HSIS resources are also used to develop products that can be used by practitioners in the analysis of safety problems.
HSIS data are sometimes used in research studies that result in other types of finished products, such as dissertations, theses, and conference proceedings.
