Comparison of Machine Learning Models to Predict Nighttime Crash Severity: A Case Study in Tyler, Texas, USA
Driving at night is riskier in terms of crash involvement than it is during the day. Fortunately, it is clearly established that illumination on roadways can reduce the number and severity of nighttime crashes. However, state and municipal departments of transportation (DOTs) lack the available illu...
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MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| author | Raja Daoud Matthew Vechione Okan Gurbuz Prabha Sundaravadivel Chi Tian |
| author_facet | Raja Daoud Matthew Vechione Okan Gurbuz Prabha Sundaravadivel Chi Tian |
| author_sort | Raja Daoud |
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| description | Driving at night is riskier in terms of crash involvement than it is during the day. Fortunately, it is clearly established that illumination on roadways can reduce the number and severity of nighttime crashes. However, state and municipal departments of transportation (DOTs) lack the available illumination data. Therefore, the objective of this research is threefold, as follows: (i) to develop machine learning models that use readily available roadway characteristic data to predict the severity of nighttime crashes; (ii) determine the effect that illumination has on crash severity; and (iii) develop a tool to assist DOT decision makers in collecting illumination data. To accomplish this objective, we have extracted data from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Crash Record Information System (CRIS) database, which was then further split into a training and a test dataset. Then, seven machine learning techniques, namely binary logistic regression, k-nearest neighbors, naïve Bayes, random forest, artificial neural network, Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model, were all applied to the unseen test data. The random forest model produced the most promising results by predicting severe crashes with 97.6% accuracy. In addition, we conducted a pilot study to test the collection of illumination data using a light meter. In the future, we aim to complete the development of a smartphone application, which can be used in conjunction with the random forest model presented in this paper, to collect crowdsourced illumination data and predict nighttime crash hotspots. This may assist DOT decision makers to prioritize funding for illumination at the hot spots. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ccceeee406524147bfcd5dc57bcb5a17 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2624-8921 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| spelling | doaj-art-ccceeee406524147bfcd5dc57bcb5a172025-08-20T03:43:58ZengMDPI AGVehicles2624-89212025-02-01712010.3390/vehicles7010020Comparison of Machine Learning Models to Predict Nighttime Crash Severity: A Case Study in Tyler, Texas, USARaja Daoud0Matthew Vechione1Okan Gurbuz2Prabha Sundaravadivel3Chi Tian4Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Texas, Tyler, TX 75799, USADepartment of Civil Engineering, The University of Texas, Tyler, TX 75799, USAResearch and Implementation Program, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX 75251, USADepartment of Electrical Engineering, The University of Texas, Tyler, TX 75799, USADepartment of Civil Engineering, The University of Texas, Tyler, TX 75799, USADriving at night is riskier in terms of crash involvement than it is during the day. Fortunately, it is clearly established that illumination on roadways can reduce the number and severity of nighttime crashes. However, state and municipal departments of transportation (DOTs) lack the available illumination data. Therefore, the objective of this research is threefold, as follows: (i) to develop machine learning models that use readily available roadway characteristic data to predict the severity of nighttime crashes; (ii) determine the effect that illumination has on crash severity; and (iii) develop a tool to assist DOT decision makers in collecting illumination data. To accomplish this objective, we have extracted data from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Crash Record Information System (CRIS) database, which was then further split into a training and a test dataset. Then, seven machine learning techniques, namely binary logistic regression, k-nearest neighbors, naïve Bayes, random forest, artificial neural network, Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model, were all applied to the unseen test data. The random forest model produced the most promising results by predicting severe crashes with 97.6% accuracy. In addition, we conducted a pilot study to test the collection of illumination data using a light meter. In the future, we aim to complete the development of a smartphone application, which can be used in conjunction with the random forest model presented in this paper, to collect crowdsourced illumination data and predict nighttime crash hotspots. This may assist DOT decision makers to prioritize funding for illumination at the hot spots.https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8921/7/1/20applied machine learningcrash severityilluminationsafetynighttime crashes |
| spellingShingle | Raja Daoud Matthew Vechione Okan Gurbuz Prabha Sundaravadivel Chi Tian Comparison of Machine Learning Models to Predict Nighttime Crash Severity: A Case Study in Tyler, Texas, USA Vehicles applied machine learning crash severity illumination safety nighttime crashes |
| title | Comparison of Machine Learning Models to Predict Nighttime Crash Severity: A Case Study in Tyler, Texas, USA |
| title_full | Comparison of Machine Learning Models to Predict Nighttime Crash Severity: A Case Study in Tyler, Texas, USA |
| title_fullStr | Comparison of Machine Learning Models to Predict Nighttime Crash Severity: A Case Study in Tyler, Texas, USA |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparison of Machine Learning Models to Predict Nighttime Crash Severity: A Case Study in Tyler, Texas, USA |
| title_short | Comparison of Machine Learning Models to Predict Nighttime Crash Severity: A Case Study in Tyler, Texas, USA |
| title_sort | comparison of machine learning models to predict nighttime crash severity a case study in tyler texas usa |
| topic | applied machine learning crash severity illumination safety nighttime crashes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8921/7/1/20 |
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