Factors influencing injury severity in three-wheeled motorized rickshaw and motorcycle collisions

Abstract

Abstract Crashes involving three-wheeler motorized rickshaws (3-WMR) and motorcycles are becoming a rising public health and socioeconomic problem in developing countries. While earlier studies have investigated safety-related issues for two, and four-wheelers, there exists a notable research gap to understanding the factors that contribute to the severity of injuries in involving 3-WMR collisions with motorcyclists. The current study aims to fill this gap by investigating the risk factors contributing to injury severity in such crashes, employing a random parameters multinomial logit model with heterogeneity in means and variance. The study conducted an empirical analysis using traffic crash data spanning three years (2019–2021) from RESCUE 1122 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The model outcomes demonstrate that major injuries (severe and fatal) in 3-WMR and motorcycle collisions are affected by numerous factors, including road features, driver characteristics, temporal factors and environmental factors. The study provides beneficial findings, emphasizing the significance of accounting for unobserved heterogeneity in the variables contributing to injury severity in 3-WMR and motorcycle collisions. Based on the findings of the study, policy recommendations are provided to help safety practitioners build more effective strategies to address the safety concerns regarding 3-WMR crashes with motorcycles in Pakistan and other regions with similar safety issues.

Keywords

• Three-wheeler motorized rickshaws
• Motorcycle
• Injury severity
• Multinomial logit model
• Unobserved heterogeneity
• Risk factors