Analyzing Human, Roadway, Vehicular and Environmental Factors Contributing to Fatal Road Traffic Crashes in Thailand

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to investigate the contributions of risk factors to fatal injuries of severe crash victims and analyze the potential causes of traffic fatalities in Thailand.  Two binary logistic regression models were proposed.  The first model was conducted for investigating and comparing the impacts among the risk factors.  The second model was conducted for further comparing the influence of each category within each factor.  The results showed that exceeding the speed limit was the major cause of fatal crashes, especially for motorcycle riders.  The odds of death in a crash increased with age.  Males were more associated with fatal crashes than females; however, drunk females were more likely to die in crashes.  Drunk road users in pick-ups and cars possessed the greatest odds of being fatal crash victims.  Better lighting conditions improved safety.  Rough and slippery roadway surfaces during the rain greatly increased the fatal risk.  Curves on urban streets and local roads induced the greatest fatal risks, followed by conflict points on local roads. Conflict points were the most hazardous locations for drunk road users in accidents.  These findings give the policy makers some insights on what traffic safety aspects to improve for reducing the number of traffic fatalities.