Citation

Anowar S, Barua U, Yasmin S, Tay R. Proc. Road Saf. Four Continents Conf. 2010; 15: 786-797.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Conference Sponsor)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Heavy vehicle accidents constitute a significant proportion of total accidents in Bangladesh every year. Heavy vehicles were involved in more than twenty thousand accidents between the years 1998 and 2006 of which more than sixty five percent were fatal accidents. However,very few studies have examined the factors contributing to the number or severity of accidents involving heavy vehicles. This study attempts to identify the factors that affect the severity of heavy vehicle accidents in Bangladesh. A multinomial logit model is applied to a sample of heavy vehicle accident data from 1998 to 2006. The model results show that severity of heavy vehicle accidents increases when there is either a head-on collision, hit-pedestrian or single vehicle collision. On the other hand, presence of police and speed-hump significantly reduces the likelihood of severe heavy vehicle accidents. A heavy vehicle accident tends to be less severe when the accident occurs on culverts or involve young driver. A comprehensive and balanced implementation of engineering strategies, education policies and enforcement tactics targeting these significant factors should be considered to mitigate severe heavy vehicle accidents and thus enhance heavy vehicle safety.