Analyzing Major Elements of Crash Injury Severity Involving Priority-I Detriments of Vision-Zero Plan

Authors

Muhammad Umer Farooq, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Cole Madson, Renken Engineering Solutions, LLC
Aemal Khattak, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

11-14-2023

Document Type

Article

Citation

Farooq, M.U., Madson, C., & Khattak, A. J. (2023). Analyzing Major Elements of Crash Injury Severity Involving Priority-I Detriments of Vision-Zero Plan. Presented at the International Road Federation (IRF) Global R2T Conference & Exhibition, Tempe, AZ.

Comments

Copyright © 2023 by the authors.

Abstract

Road traffic crashes result in significant economic losses for individuals, their families, and entire nations. These losses stem from the expenses associated with injury treatment, as well as the productivity lost due to fatalities or disabilities caused by these injuries. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development set an ambitious target of halving the global number of fatalities and injuries from road traffic crashes by 2020 and achieving zero deaths by 2030, commonly referred to as the 'Target Zero Plan.' The Target Zero Plan prioritizes traffic safety issues into three distinct levels. The three priority levels are determined based on the percentage of statewide traffic fatalities and serious injuries associated with each factor. This research primarily focuses on analyzing the first priority level that gives emphasis on young drivers, crashes at intersections, driving under the influence of alcohol, and over-speeding behaviors. Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) crash data from 2016 to 2020 was analyzed. Initially, we separated variables of interest from the raw crash data that were pertinent to Priority 1 of the Target Zero Plan. Afterwards, descriptive statistics were performed to identify any trends in crashes (2016-2020) involving young drivers, over speeding, DUI, and intersections. A Multinomial logit model was estimated to find the significant factors associated with higher levels of crash severity. The results obtained from model estimation highlighted that “Y” and “L” type of intersections, driving under the influence, over speeding trends, airbag deployment, road surface condition and distracted driving were significantly impacting crash injury severity. Recommendations are presented that may assist stakeholders in meeting the plan “Target Zero”.