Braking News: the Link between Crash Severity and Crash Avoidance Maneuvers

This study focuses on the linkage between crash severity and crash avoidance maneuvers. Various emergency lateral and speed control maneuvers are considered in response to different critical events that made the crash imminent. Partial proportional odds models are estimated to accommodate the ordered-response nature of severity while allowing for changes in effects across severity levels. The data sample for estimation consists of single-vehicle crashes extracted from the General Estimates System (GES) crash database for the period 2005-2009. Results show the correlation between crash avoidance maneuvers and crash severity, with differences emerging for different critical events. Moreover, results show two trends: (i) most drivers fail to act when facing critical events, and (ii) drivers rarely perform crash avoidance maneuvers that are correlated with higher probability of lower crash severity. These trends suggest that effort should be posed toward understanding the reaction mechanisms to different critical events, improving in-vehicle warning systems, promoting responsible driving behavior, and designing forgiving infrastructures.