Reckless Driving Crash Risks: Analysis of Contributing Factors

Reckless driving activities (e.g., aggressive, speeding, distracted, and impaired driving) pose serious threats to roadway safety, particularly on high-exposure and complex road networks. Understanding the factors that contribute to reckless driving is critical for developing targeted interventions and improving roadway safety. To that end, this study employs negative binomial regression models to estimate the frequency of different reckless crashes and identify key factors contributing to reckless driving crashes across various roadway types in Wisconsin, United States. Using data from over 29,000 reckless driving crashes that resulted in injuries or fatalities between 2017 and 2021, the results reveal that reckless driving crash risks are strongly influenced by exposure-related variables, such as annual average daily traffic and segment length, and other roadway features. Reckless driving crashes increase with annual average daily traffic; however, the impact of this is greatest on aggressive driving crash frequency and weakest on impaired crash frequency. Conversely, wider shoulders or the presence of a shoulder and higher posted speeds are associated with a reduced crash risk on all types of roadways; yet their effectiveness may vary depending on roadway type and reckless driving activity. These findings suggest that roadway-specific design strategies—such as improving shoulder width, refining lane configurations, and considering speed limit context—can play a critical role in mitigating reckless driving behaviors and enhancing traffic safety.