THE GEOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

Abstract

This study is what I tried to clarify the entity and the relation with the environment by approaching through geographical situation about traffic accidents ranked the fifth in the death-order by causes, which became one of the serious and social problems in Japan recently. At this time, however, it is a macroscopic study mainly. The conclusion can be completed on the whole as follows. 1. About the national traffic accidents (the number of occurrence, dead number, and wounded number), the number of motorcars, the population, and the number of cities, looking at the transition by years, it is obvious that each factor is in the tendency maintaining the proportional relation mutually. Above all we can affirm the tendency which the population and number of motorcars induce traffic accidents restraining one another. Thus we can recognize what the population and number of motorcars are two essential factors on traffic accidents. Comparing the two, the number of motorcars is some stronger than the population in influence. So the actual number of accidents increases with increasing of the population and number of motorcars, nevertheless the accident number per ten thousand cars decreases yearly. It is founded on restraining by another factor, the population is increasing gradually. On the contrary, the accident number per hundred thousand persons increases yearly. It should interpret that it is founded on restraining by another factor, the number of motorcars is increasing rapidly (cf. Tab. 1, Tab. 2, Fig. 1, Fig. 2). 2. Examing the stenotypes of the accidents on the road occupying the majority in traffic accidents of our country, the case of colliding with pedestrians and motorcars is the highest rank. The case of bicycles versus motorcars is the fourth, but it is a pretty high rate as it reaches over 10%. While the first rank in U.S.A. is the case of motorcars versus motorcars. And the case of bicycles is only the degree of 1%. It is thought that our country is reflected the peculiar condition jostled each other at the narrow space (road) with pedestrians, motorcars, and bicycles from the difference. Next, in traffic accidents by causes, the case of “a violation against safety operation duty” in the side of motorcars is the highest. While the case jumped out suddenly on the road in the side of pedestrians is the highest. It seems that these cases are closely connected with the defective roads in our country. For example, there are very numerous roads as follows; irregularly meandering roads, blind alleys, and narrow lanes et cetera. Besides the safety equipments (the distinctions between the footpath and driveway, and others) and not enough yet. There are these conditions as the backgrounds inducing easily the sterotypes and causes above-mentioned in our country (cf. Tab. 3, Tab. 4). 3. Investigating the occurrence by months of traffic accidents, it becomes the highest in August of a high temperature and humidity, and the lowest in January and February of a low temperature. Notwithstanding the traffic stagnancy belongs to the rather lowest among twelve months. So these facts had better think of inducing due to the climatic influence. Namely the sultry climate like the summer in Japan exerts physiologically bad influences to the drivers and pedestrians. Conseqently the summer in Japan is unfavorable as for the occurrence of accidents. Furthermore, in the relation of the condition on the daily weather and the occurrence of traffic accidents in Tokyo, we can recognize the tendency which the accidents occur compara- tively numerously on the rainy and foggy days. On these days, it is thought that the accidents increase to resemble roads of an imperfect equipment and the condition of the dark nighttime because motorcars slip easily or become narrow visibility (cf. Tab. 5, Fig. 3, Tab. 6, Fig. 4, Tab. 7).