Flooding related traffic crashes: findings from association rules

Abstract

In the United States, flooding related crashes have exposed the vulnerability of transport networks. Without realizing the depth of a flooded roadway, some may attempt to cross. At night during heavy storms, determining if a road is flooded is especially difficult. Only 18–24 inches of moving water are needed to sweep away a truck, and only 6 inches are needed to carry away a small car. Louisiana’s geographic location places the state in a unique position to receive both frontal tropical hurricanes and large air masses, which may result in high air moistures in almost any direction and drop rain with heavy intensity. In 2016, 12% of flooding related crashes occurred in Louisiana. During 2010–2016, flooding resulted in a total of 449 crashes in Louisiana with a total of 22 fatalities. This study collected seven years (2010–2016) of flooding related crash data to identify the key contributing factors. The findings show that two-way roadway with separation, rear-end crashes, higher average precipitation, and driver violations are frequently seen in the generated rules. This study provides a comprehensive picture of flooding related to traffic crashes; thus, targeting suitable countermeasures can be devised to reduce the number of crashes.

KEYWORDS:

• Association rules
• countermeasures
• flood-related crashes
• rules mining

Acknowledgments

We like to thank two anonymous reviewers who provided critical and rigorous comments. The current version of the paper is much improved due to the suggested changes that are made to respond to the queries of the reviewers.