| Over the last several years, a significant portion of New Brunswick's rural arterial highway network has been upgraded from 2-lane undivided to 4-lane divided facilities. As a result, it is anticipated that heavy truck accident rates would decrease significantly; however, no previous research is available that could quantify this relationship. In order to evaluate truck safety and compare with other jurisdictions, New Brunswick truck collision characteristics were analyzed. Moreover, estimates of truck accident rates were explored to compare with other jurisdictions and quantify improved truck safety on divided highways.; The study results indicate that fatal truck accidents are particularly problematic on undivided highways in New Brunswick. In terms of contributing factors, human factors were underrepresented in truck accidents compared to all traffic accidents combined. Conversely, vehicle and environmental conditions were contributing factors that were overrepresented when heavy trucks were involved in collisions. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
