Determinants of injury severity in traffic accidents. Evidence from a developing country

This research article analyzes the impact of various factors, such as driver characteristics, environmental factors, vehicle characteristics, and accident attributes, on the severity of physical injuries in traffic accidents occurring in Ecuador, a country where young people aged 18–29, who are of working age, have traffic accidents as the second leading cause of death. This study utilizes data from the National Traffic Accident Reports of the National Transit Agency (ANT) for the period 2021–2022. By employing a generalized ordered logit model, which more accurately captures ordinal response data, the results indicate that variables such as gender, age, day of the week, and vehicle type significantly affect the severity of injuries sustained by drivers involved in traffic accidents. From a public policy perspective, our findings provide insights into which aspects and characteristics should be targeted to reduce the severity of traffic accidents.