Run-off-road crashes in the Province of Zeeland: characteristics and possible solutions : results of an in-depth study.

This report presents the results of an in-depth study of run-off-road crashes in the Dutch Province of Zeeland. In an in-depth study of road crashes all possible information is collected about all aspects of the crash: the traffic conditions, the immediate environment, the road users who are involved, their vehicles, and the injuries that have been sustained by the vehicle occupants. The purpose of the present research is to gain insight in the factors and circumstances that have an influence on the occurrence and the outcome of run-off-road crashes. This will provide a basis for the selection of measures that can prevent similar crashes in future or reduce the injury severity of these crashes. Run-off-road crashes are defined as crashes in which one of the motor vehicles that are involved runs off the road in the initial phase of the crash. The end position of the vehicle is not important; the vehicle may have come to a stop on the verge, in a ditch, against an obstacle or tree, but it may also have crashed into an approaching vehicle. Therefore, run-off-road crashes are not only single-vehicle crashes or obstacle crashes; they can also be frontal or lateral collisions provided that one of the involved vehicles ran off the road in the initial phase of the crash. This report may be accessed by Internet users at: http://www.swov.nl/rapport/R-2011-20.pdf