Analysis of Injury Severity of Large-Truck Crashes Using Large Truck Crash Causation Study Data

he importance of trucking to freight logistics and, consequently, its impact on the economic well being of a nation is well acknowledged in literature. There is a need for studying large-truck crashes towards improving the safety of the transportation system, enhancing carrier operation and incident cost reduction. This paper contributes towards that end by undertaking an extensive analysis of the empirical factors affecting injury-severity of large-truck crashes. Data from the Large Truck Crash Causation Study is used in the empirical analysis. The injury severity was modeled using both police-reported and researcher-determined scales. Several similarities and some differences were observed. The results indicate the strong impacts of several Crash-, Truck, and Car-level variables on the severity of the crashes. For example, crashes at intersections and crashes during “dark but lighted” conditions are found to be more severe. Crashes in which the car is at fault (a particularly severe case is the head-on collision in which the car driver is found to be generally at fault) are generally more severe compared to crashes in which the truck is at fault. The use of seat-belts (for both truck and car drivers) is associated with lower injury severity. Older drivers are involved in more severe crashes. Familiarity with the vehicle (in the case of truck drivers) and with the roadway (in the case of car drivers) impacts the severity of the crash. Distracted truck drivers are estimated to result in more severe crashes. Similarly fatigued car drivers are found to be involved in more severe crashes.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Zhu, Xiaoyu
  • Srinivasan, Sivaramakrishnan
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 89th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2010-1-10 to 2010-1-14
• Date: 2010

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: DVD
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 17p
• Monograph Title: TRB 89th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobile drivers; Behavior; Crash analysis; Crash causes; Crash injuries; Crashes; Distraction; Fatigue (Physiological condition); Highway safety; Injury severity; Intersections; Seat belts; Truck drivers; Trucks
• Identifier Terms: Large Truck Crash Causation Study
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I81: Accident Statistics; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01151197
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 10-3872
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Feb 25 2010 8:12AM