biostudies-literatureJunaid MTong Wang32317https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12405482biostudies-literatureUnknown15(1)Road traffic crashes claim around 1.19 million lives annually worldwide, with over half of the fatalities involving vulnerable road users (VRUs). While several studies have explored the risk factors associated with specific categories of VRUs in Pakistan, research focusing on VRUs collectively, considering all categories and their unique safety challenges, remains limited. This study aims to examine the influence of various risk factors on the severity of injuries resulting from crashes involving VRUs, using a three-year dataset (2021-2023). The study evaluated the effectiveness of six boosting-based ensemble machine learning classifiers across multiple evaluation metrics. The findings indicated that boosting with decision stumps outperformed extreme gradient boosting, light gradient boostScientific reportsInvestigating factors influencing injury severity in crashes involving vulnerable road users in Pakistan.PMC12405482R113623H01099Alotaibi SWang TJiang CJunaid MAlmarhab YfalseInvestigating factors influencing injury severity in crashes involving vulnerable road users in Pakistan.Road traffic crashes claim around 1.19 million lives annually worldwide, with over half of the fatalities involving vulnerable road users (VRUs). While several studies have explored the risk factors associated with specific categories of VRUs in Pakistan, research focusing on VRUs collectively, considering all categories and their unique safety challenges, remains limited. This study aims to examine the influence of various risk factors on the severity of injuries resulting from crashes involving VRUs, using a three-year dataset (2021-2023). The study evaluated the effectiveness of six boosting-based ensemble machine learning classifiers across multiple evaluation metrics. The findings indicated that boosting with decision stumps outperformed extreme gradient boosting, light gradient boost2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Sep2026-05-29T21:18:55.452Z2026-04-08T05:59:41.352ZS-EPMC124054824089776910.1038/s41598-025-16477-5