Conference Proceeding

Driver Behavior in Overtaking Accidents as a Function of Driver Age, Road Capacity and Vehicle Speed: A Case Study in Iraq

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Abstract

Overtaking accidents are one of the most serious types of road traffic accidents in terms of personal injury. They are mostly caused by drivers’ misjudgment of the situation due to human factors (e.g., limited skills and/or information processing abilities), speeding, roadway capacity, and weather condition. Although the overtaking maneuver can be necessary, drivers’ use of it is often not justified. The present study aims to identify factors affecting driver behavior in critical overtaking maneuvers. The study collected and analyzed 4,902 real overtaking accidents that occurred on highways in Iraq for the years 2005- 2016. Three categories of overtaking accidents were extracted and analyzed in terms of driver age, road capacity (number of lanes and curvature), and vehicles type and speed: 1) head-on collisions that occur when the overtaking vehicle strikes the front-end of an oncoming vehicle; 2) rear-end collisions that occur when the overtaking vehicle strikes the rear-end of a vehicle ahead; and 3) side-impact collisions that occur when the overtaking vehicle strikes or is struck by a vehicle in the adjacent lane. The results indicate that number and types of overtaking accidents were significantly affected by driver age, while the tendency of drivers to overtake was influenced by the type of leading vehicles. A significant interaction between driver age and road capacity was detected in terms of higher accident rates. Correlations between overtaking accidents types, road curvature, and overtaking speed were also identified. The findings have implications for the future design of drivers assistance systems.

How to Cite:

Muslim, H. & Itoh, M., (2019) “Driver Behavior in Overtaking Accidents as a Function of Driver Age, Road Capacity and Vehicle Speed: A Case Study in Iraq”, Driving Assessment Conference 10(2019), 328-334. doi: https://doi.org/10.17077/drivingassessment.1714

Rights: Copyright © 2019 the author(s)