Research Papers (2009 – 2013)

Abstract

Run-off-road crashes constitute a significant share of severe crashes in Canada, especially in the rural environment. Nevertheless, few studies have examined the factors contributing to the number or severity of run-off-road crashes in Canada. In this study, an ordered probit model has been applied on a sample of run-off-road crash data in rural highways of Alberta, Canada. The model results show that run-off-road crashes in summer are more severe than in winter. Also, run-off-road crash severity tends to increase when run-off-road crashes occur on curved highway sections, at intersections, in dark and unlighted conditions or involve a passenger car, van, motor-cycle, female driver or older driver. The severity of run-off-road crashes tends to increase when the crashes involve overturning of vehicles. On the other hand, the severity of run-off-road crashes tends to be lower at locations with higher surface width, outside shoulder width or traffic volume. The severity of run-off-road crashes is also lower in wet or snow covered road surface condition and rainy or snowing weather condition. Transportation engineers and other road safety professionals should target these factors in their efforts to reduce and mitigate severe run-off-road crashes.

Upal Barua, Richard Tay