Rule discovery to identify patterns contributing to overrepresentation and severity of run-off-the-road crashes

•Roadway, environmental, and driver factors associated with ROR crashes were investigated.•The analysis was carried out using the rule discovery technique.•Data refer to the crashes occurred in the A16 motorway, Italy in the period 2001–2011.•The analysis provided new information which was previously hidden in the data.•Countermeasures to solve or mitigate the safety issues identified in the study were proposed.