Preprint has been published in a journal as an article
DOI of the published article https://doi.org/10.4236/jtts.2025.151009
Preprint / Version 1

Evaluation of Crash Contributing Factors

##article.authors##

  • Ye Dong Iowa State University
  • Jonathan Wood Iowa State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31224/2942

Keywords:

Contributing factors, Human Factors, Vehicle Factors, Environmental Factors, Crash Data, Vision Zero

Abstract

Understanding crash contributing factors is essential in safety management and improvement. These factors drive decisions on investments, policy, regulations, and other safety related activities. This paper provides an analysis of factors that contribute to crash occurrence based on two national datasets in the US (CISS and NASS-CDS) for the years 2017-2020 and 2010-2015, respectively. Three taxonomies were applied to provide enhanced understanding of the various factors. These taxonomies were developed based on previous research and practice (e.g., human factors, vehicle factors, and roadway and environmental factors). Statistics for grouping of factor types are provided. Additionally, statistics for specific factors are provided.

The results indicate that human factors are present in over 95% of crashes, roadway and environmental factors are present in over 45% of crashes, and vehicle factors are present in less than 2% of all crashes. In human errors and vehicle maintenance, speeding is involved in over 27% of crashes, distraction is involved in over 18% of crashes, alcohol and drugs are involved in over 8% of crashes, and vehicle maintenance is involved in approximately 0.45% of all crashes. Over 5.8% of crashes involved a driver that “looked but did not see.” Weather is involved in over 16% of crashes.

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Author Biography

Jonathan Wood, Iowa State University

Dr. Jonathan Wood is a Faculty Affiliate with the Center for Transportation Research and Education and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering (CCEE) at Iowa State University. His areas of research expertise include both theoretical and practical applications in transportation safety, real-world impacts of driver assistance technologies (DAT) and other vehicle technologies, connected and autonomous vehicle systems, and human factors. He also specializes in policy and regulatory rule-making considerations. Before joining Iowa State University, he worked as a safety researcher/data scientist for Ford Motor Company from 2017–2020. He also had positions at Wayne State University (Adjunct Assistant Professor), the City of Livonia (Traffic Commissioner), and was an Assistant Professor from 2016-2017 at South Dakota State University.

Dr. Wood received his PhD from the Pennsylvania State University in 2016. He received his Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Utah in 2012 and 2011, respectively. His Master’s thesis evaluated the safety impacts of design exceptions in Utah, utilizing a causal inference framework. Some of his current professional interests include: Roadway and Roadside Design, Public Transit, Safety Performance Analysis, Data Science, Statistical and Econometric Methods, Causal Inference, Crash Reconstruction and Forensics, Optimization, Sustainability, and Programming.

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Posted

2023-04-11

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Copyright (c) 2023 Ye Dong, Jonathan Wood

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.