Introducing GIS as legitimate instrument to deal with road accident data: a case study of Iran, Tehran

Abstract

Real and accurate data is necessary for all traffic and road safety management to identify problems and risk factors and for priority control correctly. This study aims to develop and introduce a Geographic Information System (GIS) based method for managing and analyzing urban traffic accident data in Iran, to resolve the current data management problems. To support the better decision-making process and application of GIS in managing urban traffic accidents. In Iran, road accident data is being collected by some different authorities, such as traffic police departments, insurance companies, emergency units, forensics, etc. Road traffic accident data usage in Iran is limited to mainly serve statistical purposes, while its commitment in first leadership procedure is limited. Taking into the aims, GIS is accounted as a legitimate instrument to deal with urban accident data, and support the best decision-making process for urban traffic accidents and road safety, not only in Iran but also in many other countries which are facing the similar situation. To carry out the methodology, the city of Tehran, which is the capital and most populous city of Iran, was chosen as a case study area.