Abstract
Abstract. Traffic accidents form clusters in terms of geographic space and over time which themselves exhibit distinct spatial and temporal patterns. There is an imperative need to understand how, where and when traffic accidents occur in order to develop appropriate accident reduction strategies. An improved understanding of the location, time and reasons for traffic accidents makes a significant contribution to preventing them. Traffic accident occurrences have been extensively studied from different spatial and temporal points of view using a variety of methodological approaches. In literature, less research has been dedicated to the temporal patterns of traffic accidents. In this paper, the numbers of traffic accidents are normalized according to the traffic volume and the distribution and fluctuation of these accidents is examined in terms of Islamic time intervals. The daily activities and worship of Muslims are arranged according to these time intervals that are spaced fairly throughout the day according to the position of the sun. The Islamic time intervals are never been used before to identify the critical hour for traffic accidents in the world. The results show that the sunrise is the critical time that acts as a threshold in the rate of traffic accidents throughout Turkey in Islamic time intervals.
Highlights
Traffic accidents are a major contributor in terms of personal injury and lost productivity, both in developed and developing countries
Traffic accidents form clusters in terms of geographic space and over time, in that their occurrence is tied to traffic volumes, which themselves exhibit distinct spatial and temporal patterns, as well as because of their link to natural environmental factors such as rain snow, fog and darkness, the configuration of highway networks such as locations of access and egress points, and deficient design and maintenance of highways (Yamada and Thill, 2004; Xie and Yan, 2008)
Considerably less research has been dedicated to the temporal patterns of traffic accidents (Li et al, 2007)
Summary
Traffic accidents are a major contributor in terms of personal injury and lost productivity, both in developed and developing countries. Analyzing the causes and effects of traffic accidents in order to reduce the resulting injuries or fatalities is the main task in the field of traffic safety and efficiency in Turkey. Traffic accidents form clusters in terms of geographic space and over time, in that their occurrence is tied to traffic volumes, which themselves exhibit distinct spatial and temporal patterns, as well as because of their link to natural environmental factors such as rain snow, fog and darkness, the configuration of highway networks such as locations of access and egress points, and deficient design and maintenance of highways (Yamada and Thill, 2004; Xie and Yan, 2008). Two accidents that happen reasonably close to one another in space, but which occur weeks, months, or even years apart, are not likely to represent a significant cluster of activities for remediation efforts. The knowledge of the temporal and spatial trends of accidents serves to focus the efforts of law enforcement and safety agencies, and the combination of these trends can inform mitigation strategies (Eckley and Curtin, 2013)
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