Analysis of factors affecting the frequency and severity of freight-involved and non-freight crashes on a major freight corridor freeway

Taylor, Samuel Gregory (2018) Analysis of factors affecting the frequency and severity of freight-involved and non-freight crashes on a major freight corridor freeway. Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

Traffic crashes cost society billions of dollars each year as a result of property damage, injuries, and fatalities. Additionally, traffic crashes have a negative impact on mobility, as they are a primary cause of non-recurring delay. With the Interstate 10 corridor between the ports of Los Angeles and Houston being one of the most vital links for goods movement across the United States, safety and mobility along this freeway, particularly for freight traffic, are of significant concern. This study, which utilized six years of crash data from the state of Arizona, explores factors affecting the frequency and severity of crashes along the Arizona portion of the I-10 corridor, with a particular focus on freight-related crashes. The safety performance along the I-10 is analyzed through the development of crash frequency and severity prediction models using integrated crash, roadway, traffic, and environmental data. Negative binomial and ordered logit models, with the incorporation of random parameters, were estimated to provide a detailed understanding of factors associated with freight-involved crashes and how they compare to non-freight crashes in terms of frequency and severity. The results showed that several roadway- crash-, vehicle-, and person-related variables were associated with the frequency and/or severity of crashes along the study corridor. These findings provide important insights which can be used to develop or plan countermeasures aimed at improving the safety and efficiency of freight travel. Additionally, during several stakeholder meetings it was determined that insufficient truck parking is becoming a serious issue for road users in the state of Arizona and throughout the country. Therefore, further analysis was completed to better understand the safety effects of parked freight vehicles near highways in the state of Arizona. The results concluded that there were not enough recorded collisions with parked vehicles in the past six years to create accurate statistical models, however, some assumptions about, location, time of day, and collision manner can be made by considering the summary statistics of those crashes. Finally, this study concludes with a brief look at emerging ITS technologies that may serve as effective countermeasures to some of the safety concerns discussed within the frequency, severity, and parked vehicle analyses.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	Freight; Frequency and Severity; Intelligent Transportation Systems; Parked Trucks; Traffic Safety; Trucks
Subjects:	T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences > Civil Engineering, Construction Management and Environmental Engineering
Date Deposited:	08 Aug 2019 17:27
URI:	http://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/5483

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