Evaluating the Impact of Traffic Control Measures on the Severity of School Zone Crashes in Virginia

Abstract

Virginia crash data is a detailed collection of records managed by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) which documents all the crashes within the state from 2017-present. It includes information about crash location, time, severity of crash, and other details to support traffic safety improvements. This analysis focuses on crashes happening in a school zone because of its relevance to my daily life. This research examines the potential impact of traffic control type (excluding traffic lanes) on the severity of crash within the school zone. To analyze the severity of crashes occurring within school zones, the variable crash severity is treated as an ordinal dependent variable. A ranked logistic regression model is utilized in STATA to evaluate different types of traffic control (excluding traffic lanes) and the likelihood of reducing severe crashes. Control variables such as: time, road condition, weather, etc. will also be included to improve model accuracy.

This study aims to identify the relationship between traffic control measure and the crashes severity in school zones. While results are still being finalized, the findings will be beneficial in informing better traffic safety strategies which will protect young pedestrians and student drivers.