Exploring the effect of mountainous terrain on weather-related crashes

Abstract

Mountainous areas pose unique challenges to transportation safety, with their complex terrain and harsh weather conditions. The presence of steep terrain can lead to winding roads with a high degree of azimuth change per mile, thereby increasing the potential for hazardous driving conditions. Additionally, steep terrain is often associated with fog formation, which can obscure roads by clouds. Thus, there is a need to study weather-related crashes and identify associated risk factors in mountainous areas. To address this issue, the Tobit, latent class Tobit (LCT), and two-part truncated log normal (TPTLN) models were employed to investigate the potential interactions between topography and weather-related crash rates, while accounting for the censored nature of crash data. Data from the western region of North Carolina, which is home to numerous mountains experiencing a wide range of weather conditions was used for this purpose. This region comprises a 3570-mile road network across seven cities, with elevations ranging from 1000 ft. to >6158 ft. above mean sea level. Crash data from 2015 to 2017 was obtained from the Highway Safety Information System (HSIS). The results revealed that topography significantly affect weather-related crashes in mountainous areas. Higher elevations and steeper slopes are associated with lower crash rates. Also, the study highlights the importance of considering topography when assessing transportation safety in mountainous areas. The findings help develop transportation safety policies and interventions aimed at improving safety in these areas.