Gas dynamic analogous exposure approach to interaction intensity in multiple-vehicle crash analysis: Case study of crashes involving taxis

Abstract

Exposure is a frequency measure of being in situations in which crashes could occur. In modeling multiple-vehicle crash frequency, traditional exposure measures, such as vehicle kilometrage and travel time, may not be sufficiently representative because they may include situations in which vehicles rarely meet each other and multiple-vehicle crashes can never happen. The meeting frequency of vehicles should be a better exposure measure in such cases. This study aims to propose a novel Gas Dynamic Analogous Exposure (GDAE) to model multiple-vehicle crash frequency. We analogize the meeting frequency of vehicles with the meeting frequency of gas molecules because both systems consider the numbers of the meetings of discrete entities. A meeting frequency function of vehicles is derived based on the central idea of the classical collision theory in physical chemistry with consideration of constrained vehicular movement by the road alignments. The GDAE is then formulated on the basis of the major factors that contribute to the meeting frequency of vehicles. The proposed GDAE is a more representative proxy exposure measure in modeling of multiple-vehicle crash frequency because it further investigates and provides insight into the physics of the vehicle meeting mechanism. To demonstrate the applicability of the GDAE, zonal crash frequency models are constructed on the basis of multiple-vehicle crashes involving taxis in 398 zones of Hong Kong in 2011. The GDAE outperforms the conventional time exposure in multiple-vehicle crash modeling. To account for any unobservable heterogeneity and to cope with the over-dispersed count data, a random-parameter negative binomial model is established. Explanatory factors that contribute to the zonal multiple-vehicle crash risk involving taxis are identified. The proposed GDAE is a promising exposure measure for modeling multiple-vehicle crash frequency.