Reduce Road Traffic Accidents Research Articles

An Automation to Reduce Road Traffic Accidents Using Machine Learning Techniques

An Automation to Reduce Road Traffic Accidents Using Machine Learning Techniques

Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Factors that Affect the Effective Compliance with Road Signs to Reduce Road Traffic Accidents in Nigeria

Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Factors that Affect the Effective Compliance with Road Signs to Reduce Road Traffic Accidents in Nigeria

Box-Jenkins and State Space Model in Forecasting Malaysia Road Accident Cases

Road accident is one of the main causes of death and injury worldwide in this fast-paced modern world. Many developing countries, including Malaysia, are facing serious road accident problems. Forecasting road accident cases has become an important step towards setting the road safety target. Hence, this study aims to develop forecasting models and forecast future trends of monthly road accident cases in Malaysia. The data set on monthly number of accident cases from January 2001 to December 2019 was provided by Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM). Box-Jenkins and State space models were developed using the data under study. The models were then evaluated based on in-sample and out-sample evaluation using lowest root mean square error, mean absolute percentage error and mean absolute error. The results show that the basic structural state space model with trend and seasonal component was the most appropriate model in forecasting road accident cases in Malaysia. The 10-year ahead forecast from January 2020 to December 2030 shows that monthly road accident cases in Malaysia have a constant inclining pattern for each year. It is hoped that the finding from this study could become a reference for the authorities of Malaysia in making recommendations in order to improve road safety and reduce road traffic accidents in Malaysia.

The role of social advocacy in reducing road traffic accidents in India

Road traffic accidents (RTA) account for a significant proportion of mortality and morbidity worldwide, especially the developing countries. ‘Hidden pandemics’ such as deaths due to RTA often receive minimal attention globally. If not addressed adequately, the forecast looks bleak, especially for the developing countries in the coming decades. Healthcare professionals have an important role in advocating measures to reduce injuries following RTA and, along with like-minded social individuals, can act as a powerful lobby to implement change. Following a ‘Public Interest Litigation or PIL’ by the Indian Orthopaedic Association (IOA) in 2012 – which challenged the Government to accept responsibility for this glaring problem and form an apex body to enforce road safety – the Supreme Court of India identified the existing road-safety laws to be inadequate. It created an ‘Empowered Committee’ which oversaw various new road safety measures implemented by respective state governments. A public movement called ‘UYIR’ (meaning ‘life’ in Tamil) was launched at Coimbatore to reduce RTA. Early results following the implementation of this program showed promising results with a reduction in major accidents. It emphasized that well-planned programs involving the general public could be the way forward in reducing accidents across the country. Hence, Social Advocacy is crucial when an individual or group supports and influences political, economic, and social decisions. Such advocacy aims to gain support in an adverse environment to create the necessary change for the better.

Integrated GIS Tool for Investigating the Relationship of Road Characteristics with Road Traffic Accidents

Road accidents pose a serious economic and social problems given that the number of fatal accidents continue to rise at the national and international levels. This study investigates the relationship between three road parameters, namely number of lanes, level of service (LOS), and slope, with road accidents. The data for road accidents were obtained from the Police Department - Contingent Headquarters (IPK) Alor Setar, Kedah, the data for roads, namely number of lanes and traffic volume, were obtained from Public Works Department (JKR), while the TanDEM-X Image was provided by the licensed holder. The ArcGIS software 10.5 was used to process the data; this is followed by performing the regression and kernel density estimation to determine the relationship between the parameters with accident cases. The majority of road accidents in Kedah occurred on two-lane roads. LOS is negatively correlated with road accidents, which indicates that less accidents occurred with higher level of flow. Slope is negatively correlated with road accidents, indicating that a smaller number of accidents occurred on roads with higher slope values. Alor Setar and Sungai Petani have been identified as road traffic accident hotspots for the period from 2013 to 2015. In summary, the findings of this study provide the relevant authority such as the Traffic Police with the critical information required to make a better decision when formulating strategies to reduce road traffic accidents.

Substance use among commercial motorcyclists and its relationship with life satisfaction and significant depressive symptoms

ABSTRACT Background: The study examines substance use rates and their relationship with significant depressive symptoms and satisfaction with life among commercial motorcyclists. Methods: Participants were assessed with Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), PHQ-9, and Satisfaction with life scales (SWLS). The odds of developing depression were calculated for each substance use variable using chi-square. The relationship between substance use variables and SWLS was explored using independent t-test. A p-value of 0.05 or below was adjudged significant. Results: The lifetime and current prevalence of any substance use was 61.0% (95% CI = 56.3–65.3) and 53.7 (49.0–58.4) respectively. Alcohol was the commonest substance used, followed by cigarettes, tramadol, and cannabis in that order. Twenty-six percent had significant depressive symptoms mostly in the mild form. Participants with a history of lifetime and current use of any substance, lifetime, and current use of alcohol significantly had higher odds of experiencing significant depressive symptoms. No significant association between substance use variables and satisfaction with life scores. Conclusion: Findings show a high rate of substance use among commercial motorcyclists, even above the national average, with most being dissatisfied with life. Effort at reducing substance use and misuse may go a long way in reducing road traffic accidents, psychiatric morbidities and improving overall wellbeing.

Identification of Urban Traffic Accident Hotspot Zones Using GIS: A Case Study of Dhaka Metropolitan Area

The issue of traffic safety becomes increasingly prominent and has attracted widespread attention from researchers and policy makers. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is the most vulnerable city both in terms of total number of accidents and accident rates. GIS technology has been widely applied to urban traffic information and safety management. This paper presents a geospatial analysis to identify the road traffic accident (RTA) hotspot zones in Dhaka Metropolitan Area (DMA). ‘Spatial analysis’ and ‘spatial statistics tools’ are used to examine spatial patterns of accident data. A systematic comparison of identified hotspot zones using Local Moran’s-I Statistic, Getis-Ord Gi* statistic and Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) carried out to examine spatial patterns of high cluster of traffic accidents. These analyses revealed a total 22 hotspot zones in DMA during the years 2010-2012. This kind of research would help generating new parameters for reducing road traffic accidents in Dhaka Metropolitan Area.

Do higher fuel prices help reduce road traffic accidents?

Road traffic accidents have decreased in most developed nations over the last decade. This has been attributed to improvements in vehicle and road design, medical technology and care, and driver education and training. Recent evidence however indicates that fuel price changes also have a significant impact on road traffic accidents through other mediating factors such as reductions in driver exposure through less car travel and more fuel-efficient driving e.g. speed reduction on high-speed roads. So far though, no study has examined the effects of changing fuel prices on road traffic accidents in a country such as Great Britain where fuel prices are kept artificially high for public policy reasons. Consequently, this study was designed to quantify the effects of fuel price on road traffic accident frequency through changes and adjustments in travel behaviour. For this purpose, weekly fuel prices (between 2005–2015) have been used to study the effects on road traffic accidents using the Prais-Winsten model of first order autoregressive (AR1) and the Box and Jenkins seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average models (SARIMA). The study found that with every 1% increase in fuel price there is a 0.4% reduction in the number of fatal road traffic accidents. In light of this, one concern raised was that recent UK government plans to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 may also risk a rise in fatal road traffic accidents, and hence this will need to be addressed.

How did a lower drink-drive limit affect bar trade and drinking practices? A qualitative study of how alcohol retailers experienced a change in policy.

Introduction and AimsReducing the legal drink‐drive limit from 0.08% to 0.05% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) can reduce road traffic accidents and deaths if properly enforced. Reduced limits may be opposed by alcohol retail and manufacturing industries on the basis of commercial impact. Our aim was to qualitatively explore how a reduction in the drink‐drive limit from 0.08% to 0.05% BAC in Scotland, was experienced by bar owners or managers, including any resultant changes in customer drinking or business practice. This is the first study of this type.Design and MethodsSemi‐structured interviews were conducted with 16 owners and managers of on‐trade premises in Scotland in 2018, approximately three years after the drink‐drive limit was reduced. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsMost participants reported no long‐term financial impact on their business, but a few, mainly from rural areas, reported some reduction in alcohol sales. Observed drinking changes included fewer people drinking after work or leaving premises earlier on weekdays. Adaptations to businesses included improving the range of no/low‐alcohol drinks and food offered. Changes such as these were seen as key to minimising economic impact.Discussion and ConclusionsOpposition to legislative measures that impact on commercial interests is often strong and receives significant public attention. This study found that Scottish businesses that adapted to the drink‐drive limit change reported little long‐term economic impact. These findings are of international relevance as potential BAC limit reductions in several other jurisdictions remain the subject of debate, including regarding the impact on business.

Spatial analysis of road traffic accident hotspots: evaluation and validation of recent approaches using road safety audit

Reducing road traffic accidents (RTA) and their socioeconomic costs is an increasingly important priority in many countries. In recent years, many authors have proposed various approaches to analyse historical RTA data using Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, so that locations with high instances or risk of RTA – i.e., RTA hotspots or blackspots – could be identified and ranked. This could then enable limited road engineering resources to be prioritised for remediating more critical RTA hotspots and therefore reducing RTA rates. This paper presents the development of a new validation method to evaluate the application of four different hotspot analysis methods in ESRI ArcGIS 10.2 to identify and rank RTA hotspots using historical RTA data on a section of a road in Brunei Darussalam as a case study. A road safety audit was undertaken for six locations along the study road section to identify the risk levels at these locations. These risk levels were then compared with risk levels at the same six locations computed by four hotspot analysis methods: Network KDE by SANET, KDE+, Getis-Ord Gi*, and a recently proposed risk-based method – STAA – that accounts for RTA frequency, severity and socioeconomic costs. It was found that SANET-KDE overestimated the risk levels of road sections that are free of RTA. The results from KDE + showed the most deviations compared to the identified risk levels by the road safety audit. Getis-Ord Gi* was not able to identify RTA hotspots along the study road section of Jalan Tutong. However, the STAA method provided the most consistent results in comparison with the identified risk levels by the road safety audit. STAA, by having a better validity compared to other methods, provides a promising way to prioritise RTA hotspots for remediation, and thus reducing the associated socioeconomic costs. In addition, these findings demonstrated that the novel method of validation via risk levels determined by road safety audit was able to provide an independent measure of the validity of the hotspot analysis (HSA) methods.

Impact of the use of inappropriate HID lamps on illumination and dazzling

Different authorities and organizations are committed to reducing road traffic accidents, deaths and serious injuries. More and more stringent regulations are being introduced. Car manufacturers continuously improve design of the vehicles, introducing various innovations. One of the basic preconditions for realizing road traffic safety initiatives is compliance with existing legislation. This particularly applies to the vehicle systems and components that have the most significant impact on road safety. Unfortunately, to improve visibility on older cars, many car users in Eastern European countries, including Latvia, choose a primitive but unauthorized solution: installation of non-certified high intensity discharge (HID) lamps into the headlamps, which are designed for halogen bulbs. The goal of the research is to determine the extent to which illuminance levels are exceeded if inappropriate and uncertified HID lamps are installed in the car headlamps of different designs. In the course of the experiments there were tested reflection and projection headlamps of various designs intended to use with H1, H4 and H7 category halogen lamps and mostly used together with non-compliant HID bulbs.

ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN INDIA: AN OVERVIEW

Road traffic accidents claim over a million lives every year in the world. As per World Health Organization (WHO) it is one of the leading cause of death. India, being a rapidly developing country with expanding economy has its own issues as regarding road traffic accidents due to rapid proliferation of motorization. Road traffic accidents causes enormous morbidity and mortality and at the same time, the toll on the economy of the country as a result of it is quite heavy. Road traffic accident is a result of an interaction among different factors which include the environment, vehicle and the human being. Traditionally it is considered that road traffic accidents are accidents which are unpredictable, inevitable and not preventable. But road traffic accidents are indeed predictable and preventable in majority of the cases. This require the knowledge of factors contributing and leading to road traffic accidents. There are certain preventive measures which if adopted can lead to decrease in morbidity and mortality resulting from RTA. Hence, it is the responsibility of all to contribute in reducing road traffic accidents.
 Keywords: Road traffic accidents; Road traffic injuries; Roads in India; Road safety; Vehicular registration.

A new approach to cross-sector cooperation in road safety through a comparison of policies in selected countries

Statistics from the databases of various countries and international organizations show that road accident rates and fatalities have fallen since the 1970s. With demographic changes taking place in many developed countries, however, accident and accident-risk patterns have changed in the last two decades. This study aims to introduce a new approach to cross-sector cooperation with the hope of making road safety more holistic and sustainable. The authors compare the road safety policies of three selected countries based on various categories, using a simple quantitative method. The results show some fragmentation within the policies, illustrating the need for a new road safety approach. The effort to reduce road traffic accidents by 50% by the year 2020 has also increased the pressure on stakeholders to meet this goal. This paper's contribution toward the 2020 goal lies in its recommendation of a new approach to road safety that will enlighten stakeholders on probable missing links in road safety.

Road Safety in Mangalore-An Observation

Introduction: Road traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of increased morbidity and mortality in Mangalore City. As per statistics for road traffic accidents collected from Mangalore traffic police for a period of 2 years i.e. 2015 and 2016, there were 327 fatal accidents, 2847 non-fatal accidents, 2653 vehicular accidents, 3245 cases of drunken driving and 3,88,525 cases of traffic rules violations. This alarmingly high incidence of road traffic accidents in a small coastal town motivated us to conduct this study. Methodology: This questionnaire based study was conducted on 400 randomly picked participants including traffic police persons, commuters, and drivers (bus, auto, car, and bike). The questionnaire contained both open ended and closed ended questions. Opinions and suggestions received from the participants for various questions were compiled in MS excel sheet and were analyzed using SPSS version 17.0 programme. Institutional Ethics Committee Clearance was obtained before starting the study. Results & Discussion: The data collected from the participants was listed in form of tables and graphs. The study showed that public is well aware of traffic rules and regulations; and the traffic police is well aware of their responsibilities. In spite of this and the fact that, Mangalore, being a modern and educated city with good infrastructure and well-informed residents, the cases of accidents and traffic violations are quite high. The results of this study list the opinions and suggestions of residents and police regarding increasing accidents and suggestions to control them. The results and suggestions obtained by this study can be used further to spread more awareness among police and public along with familiarizing them with expectations of the other stakeholders. We hope that in long run this exercise can result in increasing awareness, improving the road infrastructure of the city and thus reducing road traffic accidents.

Road Safety Assessment under Uncertainty Using a Multi Attribute Decision Analysis Based on Dempster–Shafer Theory

Road Safety Assessment (RSA) is an integral part of governmental programs that are meant to reduce road traffic accidents. RSA programs are periodically conducted by a committee of road safety experts based on subjective judgments. Hence, there is a degree of uncertainty inherent in almost every safety analysis. In this regard, this paper aims to employ an Evidential Reasoning (ER) approach for RSA modeling as a complex Multi Attribute Decision Analysis (MADA) problem to deal with unavoidable uncertainties such as ignorance and vagueness. The ER approach, which is different from the traditional MADA approaches, uses the belief decision matrix, which describes each attribute of an alternative by a distribution assessment using a belief structure. ER improves decision making process by using a belief decision matrix for problem modeling and the Dempster-Shafer (D–S) theory of evidence for attribute combination. A case study has also been provided to demonstrate the practical applicability of the proposed method to solve decision making problems under partial information.

Epistaxis: etiological profile and treatment outcome in a teaching hospital in South India

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">Epistaxis is the most common otorhinolaryngological emergency worldwide. Minor bleeding episodes occur more frequently in children and adolescents, whereas severe bleed requiring otolaryngologic intervention often occur in older individuals. Treatment options can be conservative or surgical, the selection of which should be made considering the parameters: efficiency, complications, and cost-benefit. </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">This was a prospective study done in 131 patients with epistaxis, in the Department of ENT, Government Medical College, Trivandrum, with the aim to determine the etiology and the outcome of the conservative and surgical management. </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">The most common causes of epistaxis were trauma and hypertension. The age incidence increased after forty years and majority had unilateral, anterior nasal, mild-moderate bleed. 79% of the cases were managed by conservative measures as opposed to only 21% who required surgical intervention. Success rate of anterior nasal pack and cauterisation of bleeding point was nearly 84%. </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">Majority of cases of epistaxis can be successfully managed by conservative measures and surgical intervention may not be necessary in most cases. Cauterization of bleeding point is the best conservative method which can be offered to the patient though anterior nasal packing still remains the most preferred method to control the bleed. The most common causes of epistaxis being trauma and hypertension, reducing road traffic accidents and lifestyle illness can reduce the incidence of nasal bleed.</span></p>

Risk factors for being the at-fault driver: A case–control study

ABSTRACTObjective: It is estimated that road traffic accidents are globally responsible for approximately 1.2 million deaths and 20 to 50 million injuries. About 70% of traffic incidences (TIs) occur in developing countries and among countries with high TI rates; Iran is the first. The aim of this study was to measure the association between being responsible for a traffic accident and some vehicle, human; and environmental related factors in Yasuj, a city with a high incidence of road traffic injuries and deaths in Iran.Methods: This is a time-, date-, and place-matched case–control study conducted in 2015 using all traffic accidents registered and investigated by police during 2012. In total, 194 drivers were considered the at-fault driver in a traffic accident and the 194 drivers in the same collisions were included in the analysis.Results: Based on the results from multivariate conditional logistic regression, significant associations between vehicle maneuver (ORTurn to right or left/Moving forward = 11.10, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.77–69.58, P = .01) and age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.11, 95% CI, 1.004–1.22, P = .04) and the chance of being an at-fault driver were found.Conclusion: Driver behavior–related interventions including training and law enforcement seem to be more effective in reducing road traffic accidents in Iran.

Patterns and Short Term Outcomes of Chest Injuries at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda

Background: This study was conducted to establish the causes, injury patterns and short-term outcomes of chest injuries at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital. Methods: This was a prospective study involving chest injury patients admitted to Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) for a period of one year from April 2014 to 31st March 2015. Results: A total of 71 chest injury patients were studied. Males (91.6%) were the majority and the ages ranged from 8 to 76 years (mean 32.9 years (+/- 14.0). Majority of the patients (57.7%) sustained blunt injury. RTA was the most common cause of injury, affecting 49.3%.The commonest injury patterns were chest wall injuries and lung and pleural injuries accounting for 69.0% and 64.8 respectively. Rib fractures were the commonest chest wall injury (71.4%) while hemopneumothorax was the commonest (34.9%) finding among those with lung and pleural injury. Associated injuries were found in 64.2% and out of these, abdominal injuries were the commonest extra thoracic injury (39.1%) followed by head injury(37.0%),cuts and lacerations(37%) andfractures (28.3%).The commonest abdominal organs injured were spleen(44.4%), liver (27.8%) and stomach (16.7%). Majority of the patients had thoracostomy (47.9%) while 33.8% had non surgical treatment. Laparotomy and thoracotomy were done in 11(15.5%) and 3 (4.2%) of the patients respectively. Complications occurred in 20(28.2%) and the commonest complication was pneumonia 6 (30%).The mean length of stay was 7.14 days, SD=±6.1) and the mortality was 16.9%.The significant determinants of mortality were associated injuries (X2=4.57, F.E=0.046), complications (X2=36.82, F.E=0.000) and severe head injury (X2=13.85, F.E=0.001). Conclusion: The causes, patterns and short-term outcomes of this study are similar to those observed in other developing countries. Chest injury in our setting causes high mortality and measures to reduce road traffic accidents are urgently required.Key words: Chest injury, pattern, outcomes

Effects of new urban motorway infrastructure on road traffic accidents in the local area: a retrospective longitudinal study in Scotland

BackgroundThe M74 motorway extension, Glasgow, opened in June 2011. One justification for construction was an expectation that it would reduce road traffic accidents (RTAs) on local non-motorway roads. This study...

Traffic safety outcomes of traffic law application and the adoption of new technology in traffic control

Experience of the State of Qatar Introduction: Since the second half of the last decade of the twentieth century, Qatar has witnessed the implementation of a comprehensive development plan in various economic, urban and social scales. This comprehensive plan granted greater attention to developing the infrastructure and providing the necessary facilities. Road network development, with world-class engineering standards, was conducted with a view to improving the transportation system and providing suitable conditions for its sustainability. Another objective was to align the carrying capacity and design components of this system with the increase in the number of vehicles and population in the wake of the rising numbers of foreign workers and technical personnel induced by the implementation of the plan, along with the soaring number of various driver licenses and different types of registered vehicles. Components of the Study The study examined and analyzed statistical data of a number of elements, some of which are shown in Figure (1) below: 1. Statistics documented by the relevant authorities, showing a rise in the number of foreigners, which drove the population to grow four folds; 2. The number of vehicles registered at the Traffic Department, which also increased in proportion to the rate in (1) above; 3. The significant increase recorded in driver licenses awarded by the Traffic Department. The most important element in these variables is the number of injuries caused by road traffic accidents as a natural result reflecting the above-mentioned increases. Figure (2) shows the number of fatalities in road traffic accidents between 2000 and 2014, which peaked in 2006 as the fatality rate recorded 270, unprecedented in the State. Research Method The research method has mainly relied on collecting, analyzing and surveying the statistics and events documented by the relevant departments and authorities in the Ministry of Interior and other related bodies. This study comes in line with the vision and mission of the Ministry of Interior (in its capacity as the institution in charge of maintaining security and safety and protecting public and private properties, as well as establishing security and safety in the country through a highly professional performance of security services in a genuine partnership with society). During the implementation stage of the study, the documented findings have been treated as outcomes of the measures and events carried out by the Ministry with the aim of reducing road traffic accidents and mitigating the related human and material losses. The measures addressed in the study include the following: 1. The Ministry of Interior developed the legislation of Traffic Law no. 19 of 2007 to keep pace with the developments in the State, whereby stricter sanctions were introduced to the lawbreakers, mechanisms of testing drivers were activated and driving schools were developed. 2. The employment of sophisticated technologies in road traffic control and management. 3. Awareness-raising programs for the benefit of road users were adopted and carried out in a highly professional manner. Conclusions 1. The study and analysis the measures adopted show good results, as fatality rates in recent years, until 2014, are always below the rate recorded in 2006. 2. Traffic police patrols› reports and traffic surveillance systems show the development in traffic awareness and control. 3. The effective measures and programs carried out in driving schools have their positive good effects on schools, trainers and trainees. 4. This paper exposes an important aspect of development in the road traffic safety in general through the measures and effective regulations adopted. The research work also highlights some findings noticed on the road network outside cities (highways in particular) Recommendations 11. The study findings show the importance of putting laws and regulations into practice and the need for reviewing them from time to time in accordance with the changes in the components of transportation system›s design, implementation and operation. 22. It is necessary to adopt sophisticated technologies in traffic control and organization. The use of modern traffic technologies should be coordinated, serving as support means to the major components of traffic control: police and laws.