Factors impacting injury severity of crashes involving traffic barrier end treatments

This paper seeks to identify variables affecting the severity of crashes involving traffic barrier end treatments. A field inventory was conducted to collect type, system height (from the ground to the top), lateral offset (from the edge of pavement), and side-slope of over 11,000 end treatments in the state of Wyoming. Then, the data collected was combined with historical end treatment crashes using the Critical Analysis Reporting Environment (CARE) software. Finally, a severity model was developed for end treatment crashes, considering a random-parameters ordered logit model. Among the end treatment types considered in this study, the end anchorage type A-FLEAT 350 was least likely to result in severe injuries in crashes. On the other hand, turned-down end terminal and the end anchorage WY-BET were involved with higher injury severity in crashes. End treatments located on a flat roadside were found to be less severe, showing a parameter estimate equal to -1.10 in the crash severity model. End treatment crashes involving pickup also had a lower probability of causing a severe injury crash compared to the other vehicle types.

Automated summary

This study aimed to identify variables affecting the severity of crashes involving traffic barrier end treatments. The research found that end treatment crashes involving different types of end treatment structures have varying levels of injury severity, with some types being less likely to result in severe injuries. Additionally, the location and type of end treatments, as well as the type of vehicles involved, also play a role in the severity of the crashes.