Abstract
A data base was constructed to determine the effect of road and curve geometric elements on curve accidents. The route positions, angles of turn, directions of turn, lengths of adjacent tangents, traffic volumes, gradients and accidents (over a five year period) on all rural curves on a 2000 km long state highway in New Zealand were entered into the data base. The total amount of curvature in the two km of roadway preceding each curve was also recorded. It was shown that each of the geometric features evaluated had an influence on accident rates.