İstanbul'da Trafik Kazası Sıcak Noktalarının ve Özelliklerinin Coğrafik Bilgi Sistemi Kullanılarak Belirlenmesi: Kesitsel Çalışma

Abstract

Objective: One of the leading social problems all over the world is deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents. Identification of accident hotspots and sources by Geographical Information System has been popular tool to provide road/travel safety. In this study, it was aimed to analyze the trends and characteristics of traffic accidents by presenting a system with geographically referenced data on a district basis, taking into account various variables such as accident type, accident result, time period (day/night) and intervals of the accident, and in which days or months the accident occurred. Material and Methods: All the statistical results of accidents were obtained by expert reports issued in 2017 by İstanbul Council of Forensic Medicine, Traffic Specialization Department. Although the accidents, that are the subject of this study, occurred between 2005 and 2017, they were sent to the Forensic Medicine Council and reported in 2017 due to the length of legal processes and the inconsistency of forensic expert reports. Results: In this way, 1,568 accidents occurred in İstanbul, which were submitted to the judicial authorities as a result of the disputes arising after a traffic accident, were determined and examined. Since accident reports are prepared in textual format, this situation makes difficult to analyze data. This study includes data on traffic accidents within the provincial borders of İstanbul to investigate trends and characteristics. According to the obtained data, it was possible to determine the accidents which have occurred on the European Side were doubled the ones on the Anatolia Side. Küçükçekmece district was the highest number of accident in both fatal and injured. June (148 accidents-9.4%) and September (144- 9.1%) were the months with the highest number of accidents occurred on a monthly basis. The majority of traffic accidents have occurred at the 16.00-19.59 interval hours. Conclusion: The identification of potential accident hotspots is effective and practical for management decision-making, reducing traffic accidents and improving safety operation management.