Comparing Crash Severity Risk Factors at Signalized and Stop-Controlled Intersections in Urban and Rural Areas
Previous studies have shown that intersections are critical locations on the roadway network, having the majority of crashes. Understanding those factors that affect crash severity at intersections is essential to develop strategies to alleviate any safety deficiency. This paper identifies and compares the significant factors affecting crash severity at signalized and stop-controlled intersections in urban and rural areas in Alabama using five-year crashes from 2010 to 2014. A random forest model was used to rank variable significance and a binary logit model was applied to identify the risk factors at both intersection types in urban and rural areas. Four separate models (urban signalized, urban stop-controlled, rural signalized, and rural stop-controlled) were developed in this study. Roadway characteristics, traffic characteristics, vehicle characteristics, driver characteristics, and environmental conditions were used as independent variables in the models. New variables that were not previously explored were used in this study, such as the roadway type (one-way vs. two-way) and traffic control functioning (yes or no). It was found that one-way roadways and non-functioning traffic signals were associated with a reduction in crash severity at urban signalized intersections. In all the four models, rear-end crashes showed lesser severity compared to side impact crashes. Head-on crashes, higher speed limits, and curved sections showed higher severity in both urban signalized and stop-controlled intersections. In rural stop-controlled intersections, cloudy weather and right-turning maneuver were associated with a severity reduction. Female drivers showed 15% and 45% higher severity likelihood (compared to their male counterparts) at urban and rural signalized intersections, respectively. Strategies to alleviate crash severity at different intersections are suggested.
-
Supplemental Notes:
- This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANB25 Standing Committee on Highway Safety Performance.
-
Corporate Authors:
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20001 -
Authors:
- Kesavareddy, Sumalatha
- Haleem, Kirolos
- Doustmohammadi, Mehrnaz
- Anderson, Michael
-
Conference:
- Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting
- Location: Washington DC, United States
- Date: 2017-1-8 to 2017-1-12
- Date: 2017
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 19p
- Monograph Title: TRB 96th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Crash characteristics; Crash severity; Multiway stop signs; Risk assessment; Rural areas; Signalized intersections; Stop signs; Urban areas
- Geographic Terms: Alabama
- Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01626379
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: 17-05555
- Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
- Created Date: Feb 23 2017 2:56PM