A Comprehensive Analysis for the Heterogeneous Effects on Driver Injury Severity in Single-Vehicle Passenger Car and SUV Rollover Crashes

Abstract

In road traffic crashes, although rollover crashes account for a relatively low proportion, those result in a high fatality rate. The present study performed random parameters ordered logit models to examine risk factors as well as their heterogeneous effects on driver injury severity in single-vehicle passenger car and SUV rollover crashes. Crash data for the empirical analysis were extracted from Texas Crash Record Information System (CRIS) database during the year 2016. Model estimation results show that six variables (male drivers, drivers’ age, airbag deployment, failure to drive in single lane, speed limit, and rural area) were found to produce normally distributed parameters in passenger car model, while nine parameters (male drivers, safety belt use, airbag deployment, drug or alcohol use, failure to drive in single lane, improper evasive action, vehicle model year, friday, and rural area) in SUV model were found to be normally distributed. Several other factors with fixed parameters were found to be associated with driver injury severity in single-vehicle passenger car or SUV rollover crashes, most notably: ejection or partial ejection, turning left, intersection, August, adverse weather conditions, and night with light. These variables were significant in both models; most variables have stronger effects on nonincapacitating injury and serious injury outcomes in SUV than in passenger car rollover crashes. These findings provide a deep insight into causality nature and factor involved in driver injury severity in single-vehicle passenger car and SUV rollover crashes and are also helpful for transport agencies to determine appropriate countermeasures aimed at mitigating injuries sustained by drivers in single-vehicle rollover crashes.

Risk Factors Associated with Passenger Vehicle Fatal Rollover Crashes in West Virginia, 2001-2018

“… 16 Airbags have played an important role in protecting drivers and occupants and can improve vehicles’ crash worthiness. 8 , 17 Due to the special topography in WV, more fatal rollover crashes occurred in rural areas compared to urban areas; rurality was identified as a risk factor for fatal rollover crashes in other studies as well. 8 , 16 , 17 , 20 Also, longer emergency medical services (EMS) response time and limited EMS locations in rural areas may explain the high likelihood of deaths following a motor vehicle crash.…”

“…While characteristics of rollover crashes have been documented in other studies, they have not been documented for fatal rollover crashes specifically in West Virginia. 7 , 8 , 16 – 18 This information is important to garner from a public health perspective as crash fatality rates are higher in this state. 19 This study determined that most fatal rollover crashes in WV were associated with drivers who were travelling on a high-speed roadway, crashed in a rural area, involved in single-vehicle collisions, operating a utility or pickup truck, and experienced no air-bag deployment, compared with nonrollover collisions.…”

“…The findings in this study were partially consistent with results from other studies; other studies have also found that alcohol consumption, driving speed, operating a truck/utility vehicle, and lacking airbags are risk factors for rollover crashes. 7 , 8 , 16 , 17 Alcohol is known to impair drivers’ cognition and driving performance making them more prone to collision. Higher speeds and vehicles with high centers of gravity, such as trucks and utility vehicles, may also make vehicles more prone to tip.…”

“…Independent variables known to be associated with rollover motor vehicle crashes were chosen based on previous studies and availability in the FARS dataset. 8 , 16 , 17 In this study, all independent variables were categorized as driver, environmental, and/or vehicle characteristics. The classification and coding in FARS of each variable used in the analyses are in Table 1 .…”

“…A study conducted in Ohio found that drug or alcohol use was also a risk factor for rollover crashes. 8 In 2018, the number of people who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes accounted for nearly 29% of total traffic fatalities. 1 While driving under the influence of alcohol is a well-documented traffic safety threat, drugged driving is also becoming a major public health issue in the U.S. and has increased between 1993 and 2010.…”