Traffic safety: Non-linear causation for injury severity

Abstract

In Europe traffic accidents are now widely recorded in national databases. In view of the massive amounts of accident data, the use of data mining tools is essential to sift truly relevant information. Classical statistical tools evaluate the strength of potential causal relationships by essentially linear techniques, or strongly rely on ad hoc specific models. We outline here how mutual information ratios based on conditional entropy contribute to rigorously quantify the influence of causation factors on injury severity, with no hypothesis on underlying relationships between observed variables. We successfully apply this approach to analyze causation factors in the German In Depth Accident Study database, which is one of the largest and most complete in depth accident survey and data collection in Europe. The results show that additional safety gains potential are expected fromintelligent speed adaptation systems, collision warning and collision avoidance systems. © 2011 WIT Press.