Intersections are recognized as the most hazardous location on roads as the conflict possibilities are very high at intersections, which often result in high frequency of fatal crashes. A significant share of fatal crashes in Canada occurs at intersections on rural undivided highways. Nevertheless, few studies have examined the factors contributing to the fatality risk of intersection crashes in Canada. In this study, a logistic regressionmodel has been applied to a sample of crash data at intersections on the rural undivided highways of Alberta, Canada to investigate 18 factors and 71 variables. Of the factors that came out significant, the major factors affecting the likelihood of fatality are the types of intersections, horizontal and vertical alignment of the highway at intersections, signalization at intersections, the types of collisions, impairment of drivers and ageof drivers involved in crashes. Fatality risk of intersection crashes tends to increase when crashes occur at offset intersections or at cross or Tintersections on horizontal curve. The likelihood of fatality tends to increase if the intersection is on a sag curve or at a constant grade. On the other hand, signalization at intersections tends to reduce the likelihood of fatality. Pedestrian involved collision, head-on collision, right angle collision and run-off-road collision at intersections that involves hitting fixed object and overturning of vehicles are associated with higher fatality risk. An intersection crash also tends to have higher likelihood of fatality when it involves older driver (age>70 years) or involve impaired (by alcohol or drug) or fatigued drivers. Transportation engineers and other road safety professionals should target these factors in their efforts to reduce fatal crashes at intersections on undivided highways.
Samenvatting