Comparative Analysis of Influencing Factors on Crash Severity between Super Multi-Lane and Traditional Multi-Lane Freeways Considering Spatial Heterogeneity

With the growth of traffic demand, the number of newly built and renovated super multi-lane freeways (i.e., equal to or more than a two-way ten-lane) is increasing. Compared with traditional multi-lane freeways (i.e., a two-way six-lane or eight-lane), super multi-lane freeways have higher design speeds and more vehicle interweaving movements, which may lead to higher traffic risks. However, current studies mostly focus on the factors that affect crash severity on traditional multi-lane freeways, while little attention is paid to those on super multi-lane freeways. Therefore, this study aims to explore the impacting factors of crash severity on two kinds of freeways and make a comparison with traditional multi-lane freeways. The crash data of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen freeway in China from 2016 to 2019 is used in the study. This freeway contains both super multi-lane and traditional multi-lane road sections, and data on 2455 crashes on two-way ten-lane sections and 13,367 crashes on two-way six-lane sections were obtained for further analysis. Considering the effects of unobserved spatial heterogeneity, a hierarchical Bayesian approach is applied. The results show significant differences that influence the factors of serious crashes between these two kinds of freeways. On both two types of freeways, heavy-vehicle, two-vehicle, and multi-vehicle involvements are more likely to lead to serious crashes. Still, their impact on super multi-lane freeways is much stronger. In addition, for super multi-lane freeways, vehicle-to-facility collisions and rainy weather can result in a high possibility of serious crashes, but their impact on traditional multi-lane freeways are not significant. This study will contribute to understanding the impacting factors of crash severity on super multi-lane freeways and help the future design and safety management of super multi-lane freeways.