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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Built Environ.

Sec. Transportation and Transit Systems

Volume 11 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbuil.2025.1684955

This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancements in Traffic Safety: Data-Driven Insights and Emerging TechnologiesView all 3 articles

Truck-Involved Crash Severity in Thailand: A Multilevel Perspective on Driver Behavior and Contextual Influences

Provisionally accepted
  • 1Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
  • 2Rajamangala University of Technology Isan, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Truck-involved crashes in Thailand frequently lead to severe consequences due to the vehicles' large size, heavy loads, and high-speed operations. Despite growing concerns, most previous studies have used single-level models that overlook the hierarchical structure of crash data and fail to account for spatial and contextual variations across regions. This study applies a Multilevel Ordered Logit Model to examine factors influencing truck crash severity by integrating individual-level variables (e.g., driver behavior, vehicle condition, environmental factors) with province-level contextual factors (e.g., population size, AADT, Highway length). The model captures both direct effects and cross-level interactions to assess how regional characteristics shape the relationship between individual risk factors and crash severity. The results reveal substantial provincial variation and demonstrate that contextual factors significantly moderate the impact of driver behavior on crash outcomes. These findings emphasize the importance of adopting multilevel analytical frameworks in road safety research, especially in developing countries. The study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of truck-related crash mechanisms and provides practical insights for designing targeted, context-sensitive safety policies that align with the unique characteristics of each province.

Keywords: Multilevel modeling1, Truck crashes2, Injury severity3, Cross-level interactions4, Spatial analysis5

Received: 13 Aug 2025; Accepted: 30 Sep 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Nanthawong, Wisutwattanasak, Banyong, Dangbut, Champahom, Ratanavaraha and Jomnonkwao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Sajjakaj Jomnonkwao, sajjakaj@sut.ac.th

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