Navigating Spatial Inequities in Freight Truck Crash Severity via Counterfactual Inference in Los Angeles

TL;DR

This paper uses deep counterfactual inference to analyze spatial disparities in freight truck crash severity in Los Angeles, highlighting socioeconomic and infrastructural factors influencing crash outcomes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of deep counterfactual models to assess spatial justice issues in freight crash severity, integrating diverse datasets for nuanced analysis.

Findings

Significant spatial disparities in crash severity across different communities.

Infrastructural and environmental factors significantly influence crash outcomes.

Targeted policy interventions can mitigate spatial inequities.

Abstract

Freight truck-related crashes pose significant challenges, leading to substantial economic losses, injuries, and fatalities, with pronounced spatial disparities across different regions. This study adopts a transport geography perspective to examine spatial justice concerns by employing deep counterfactual inference models to analyze how socioeconomic disparities, road infrastructure, and environmental conditions influence the geographical distribution and severity of freight truck crashes. By integrating road network datasets, socioeconomic attributes, and crash records from the Los Angeles metropolitan area, this research provides a nuanced spatial analysis of how different communities are disproportionately impacted. The results reveal significant spatial disparities in crash severity across areas with varying population densities, income levels, and minority populations, highlighting the pivotal role of infrastructural and environmental improvements in mitigating these disparities. The findings offer insights into targeted, location-specific policy interventions, suggesting enhancements in road infrastructure, lighting, and traffic control systems, particularly in low-income and minority-concentrated areas. This research contributes to the literature on transport geography and spatial equity by providing data-driven insights into effective measures for reducing spatial injustices associated with freight truck-related crashes.