Analysis of Off-Roadway Crashes for Intelligent Commercial Vehicle Applications

This paper presents the results from an analysis of off-roadway crashes involving commercial vehicles (large trucks – medium and heavy trucks) in support of the roadway departure research area, part of the United States (US) Department of Transportation’s Intelligent Vehicle Initiative. This analysis deals with off-roadway crashes in which the first harmful event occurs off the roadway after a vehicle in transport departs the travel road due to loss of control or crossing the edge of the roadway. Approximately 136,000 such crashes were reported in the US over a 3-year period based on the 1996–1998 National Automotive Sampling System/General Estimates System crash databases.