Abstract: Although traffic crashes involving buses are less frequent than those involving other vehicle types, the consequences of bus crashes are high as a result of potentially multiple injuries and casualties. With the shift towards public transportation increasing, the number of deaths and injuries from bus crashes also rises, especially in emerging and developing nations. As driver error is a primary factor affecting bus crashes, driver safety education is one of the main countermeasures used to mitigate bus crash risk. At present, however, safety education is not properly focused, especially in China. The aim of this study is therefore to explore the fleet and driver level risk factors underlying bus drivers’ crash involvement, so as to identify the most influential factors that might be prioritized in safety education. A survey of 725 drivers from a large Shanghai bus company was conducted, and a two-level random-effects logit model integrating fleet and individual variables was developed. Relative importance of significant variables was calculated for ranking the variables’ contributions to crashes. Results show that: 1) fleet safety climate explained about 8.5% of the model’s variance, indicating it was a valid predicator of crashes; 2) drivers’ age, seniority, marital status, insomnia, positive behavior, and driving anger influence drivers’ crash involvement, but ordinary and aggressive violations, and lapses were the most influential variables; 3) psychological distress appeared to increase the frequency of risky driving behavior and the severity of driving anger. This study’s findings will be helpful to bus companies in improving driver safety education.
Xuesong Wang, Yujun Jiao, Junyu Huo, Ruirui Li, Chu Zhou, Hanzhong, Pan, Chen Chai. Analysis of safety climate and individual factors affecting bus drivers’ crash involvement using a two-level logit model. Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 154, May 2021, 106087.