Analysis of injury severity in traffic crashes: A case study of Korean expressways

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate a set of variables that contribute to the degree of injury severity sustained in traffic crashes of Korean expressways. To this end, we examined three statistical models - ordered probit, ordered logit, and multinomial logit - to determine the most appropriate model for crash records that were collected from the entire network of Korean expressways in 2008. Interpretation of the estimated coefficients in the selected model provides relative risks of significant influential factors for injury severity. The findings from this study are expected to help transportation planners and engineers understand which risk factors contribute more to the injury severity in Korean expressways such that they can efficiently allocate resources and effectively implement safety countermeasures.