Abstract
This paper investigates the effects of road segment alignment and location on rural two-lane highway crash rates by taking the mileage of segment types into consideration. Roadway segments are classified and redefined according to the segment alignment and location. The definitions of crash rates in terms of segment alignment and location are presented respectively. The study gathers crash data and the roadway geometric information of rural two-lane highways in southwest of China and crash rates of each segment type are proposed by utilizing the proposed definitions. The result indicates that gentle-slope & sharp-curve segments and intersections tend to have extremely higher crash rates than the other types of segments. (Author/publisher)