Exploring factors associated with crash severity on motorways in Pakistan

The enormous loss of life, as well as economic loss, incurred by road traffic crashes means that rigorous research efforts, especially in developing countries, are needed to investigate risk factors that significantly influence crash severity. The objective of this study is to explore empirically the impact of driver and vehicle characteristics, environmental conditions and collision pattern on motorway (freeway) crash severity. The past 7 years' worth of data (2009-2015) on motorway crashes, collected by the National Highway and Motorway Police Pakistan, are used in the study. An ordered probit model is estimated using four levels of injury severity: property damage only, minor injury, major injury and fatal injury. Ten explanatory variables show a significant association with crash severity on motorways. Major risk factors that are found to increase the propensity for severe injury are speeding, drowsiness, head-on collision due to driving the wrong way, illegal pedestrian crossing and increasing age of drivers. The model's predictive performance is also discussed. The study findings emphasise the need for enhanced road safety enforcement measures for reducing crash severity on high-speed limited-access facilities.