Exploring the association of rear-end crash propensity and micro-scale driver behavior

•This paper provides initial evidence of an association between rear-end crash rates and driver behavior.•85% of all rear-end crashes occurred within 2000 feet of the on-ramp gore.•There was a strong association between rear-end crash rates and the propensity of hard deceleration (below 4/m/s2).•The extreme deceleration problem appears to be consistent across most drivers traveling some of the links.