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Contributing Factors for Crashes on Low-Volume Unpaved Roads

Date and Time: Monday, July 24: 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Location: Grand Ballroom A

 

Lead Presenter: Sumon Mojumder

Graduate Research Assistant, University of Kansas Transportation Center

Speaker Biography

Sumon Mojumder is a master’s student at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. He has been working as a graduate research assistant at the University of Kansas Transportation Center (KUTC) since January 2021. His primary area of research is traffic safety, data collection, and countermeasures evaluation. As a research assistant at KUTC, he has worked on multiple projects that were submitted to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Co-Authors 

Dr. Hemin J Mohammed, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Trine University;
Professor Dr. Steven D. Schrock, Interim Associate Dean, School of Engineering, Director of University of Kansas Transportation Center, University of Kansas.

Presentation Description/Paper Summary

Unpaved roads have different roadway characteristics than paved roads. A key way to investigate potential safety barriers is to analyze traffic crashes that have occurred on unpaved roads. The objective of this study was to estimate the influence of different factors on crash occurrence on unpaved roads. For this, five years (2016-2020) of traffic crash data from Kansas were collected and analyzed by applying binary logistic regression. Results showed that 23 factors were statistically significant among the 25-analyzed factors categorized under driver, roadway, and crash characteristics. Factors with higher liklihoods of occurance included the presence of farm equipment, crashes occurring at yards and fields, and collisions with trains. Several factors were found to have low liklihoods of occurance, such as roads with more than two lanes, interchanges, ramps, median existence, and multiple-vehicle collisions. However, widening the roadway may not guarantee crash reduction on unpaved roads. Effective steps could be proper educational programs targeting teen drivers on unpaved road’s driving experience. It is also recommended to post traffic control devices at railroad crossings and locations with nearby access to farms and agricultural lands. In addition, further study can be conducted to estimate the site-specific roadway width and speed limits.

Presentation File

Poster