Recursive Bivariate Probit Analysis of Injury Severity and Non-Truck Improper Actions in Large Truck-Related Crashes on Florida Suburban Roads

Abstract

This study investigated the hierarchical connection among injury severity, non-truck improper actions, and contributing factors in large-truck-involved crashes. Data for 4 years (2011–2014) of crashes that involved a large truck (≥ 10,000 lb) and a non-truck vehicle were collected from suburban roads in Florida, U.S. A recursive bivariate probit model was fitted with collected data to identify the cause-effect chain, including contributing factors influenced by improper actions, the effects of improper actions on injury severity, and contributing factors indirectly affecting injury severity in large-truck-related crashes. Study results indicate that non-truck vehicle improper actions, such as excessive speed, careless driving, failure to yield right-of-way, and others, significantly increase the likelihood of fatal and severe injury in large-truck crashes, and factors such as crash month, darkness, intersection-related, surface and shoulder width, truck parking, truck driver age, non-truck driver age, and non-truck alcohol/drug impaired indirectly influence injury severity through their impacts on non-truck improper actions. Two factors—truck right-turn and non-truck driver physical defects—affect injury severity and non-truck improper actions simultaneously. Other factors, including crash year, annual average daily traffic, speed limit, crash type, truck type, truck speed, truck alcohol/drug-impaired, and motorcycle involvement, directly contribute to injury severity in large-truck crashes and have no influence on non-truck improper actions.