he importance of trucking to freight logistics and, consequently, its impact on the economic well being of a nation is well acknowledged in literature. There is a need for studying large-truck crashes towards improving the safety of the transportation system, enhancing carrier operation and incident cost reduction. This paper contributes towards that end by undertaking an extensive analysis of the empirical factors affecting injury-severity of large-truck crashes. Data from the Large Truck Crash Causation Study is used in the empirical analysis. The injury severity was modeled using both police-reported and researcher-determined scales. Several similaritiesand some differences were observed. The results indicate the strong impacts of several Crash-, Truck, and Car-level variables on the severity of the crashes. For example, crashes at intersections and crashes during dark but lighted conditions are found to be more severe. Crashes in which the car is at fault (a particularly severe case is the head-on collision in which the car driver is found to be generally at fault) are generally moresevere compared to crashes in which the truck is at fault. The use of seat-belts (for both truck and car drivers) is associated with lower injury severity. Older drivers are involved in more severe crashes. Familiarity with the vehicle (in the case of truck drivers) and with the roadway (in thecase of car drivers) impacts the severity of the crash. Distracted truck drivers are estimated to result in more severe crashes. Similarly fatiguedcar drivers are found to be involved in more severe crashes.
Abstract