Abstract:
Traffic collisions have significantly increased in Ethiopia. Finding "black spots" is the
first and most important phase in the road safety study. A few studies in RTCs were
carried out without using the best techniques for identification. Using GIS, this study
aims to identify the RTC hotspots in Debre Birhan City, investigate the local causes
of these crashes, and propose a remedy for the city's road networks. Further, they
investigated RTC variations with spatial and temporal in Debre Birhan City. Road
crash data for the city of Debre Birhan from 2016/17 to 2020/21 was used. The GIS
database includes details about the collision, including the time, place, type of vehicle,
and number of injured or fatalities. Studies on crash analysis aim to identify collision
hotspots. Using ArcGIS-based hotspot analysis and network kernel density estimate
methods, black spot areas in the city were found. The weight-severity index method
was used for prioritization, and crash types and pattern analysis were applied.
Physical site surveys and questionnaires were conducted to analyze the common road
safety issues at the "black spots." Rear-end collisions, angle collisions, and pedestrian
collisions were observed to occur frequently; weekends (Sunday and Saturday) have
the highest crash records of the week; dump trucks and minibuses account for 60% of
all crashes; and male and young (age 18–30) drivers accounted for the majority of
crashes. Arc GIS-based analysis tools and methods with prioritized ones revealed that
"Semayawi" church, "Fabrica Megenteya," "St. Selassie," "St. Geberaile Megenteya,"
"Aqua Safe," "Noc," "Agipe," and "Arsema" were places where more frequent and
severe RTCs occurred. Poor pedestrian and roadway facilities, sight distance
visibility, traffic control devices and signs, street vendors, road user varieties like
animals, and driver misbehavior have all been noted during the contributing factors
study. Improving the road and pedestrian facilities, using guided traffic control signs
and devices, enforcing laws, and providing separate tracks for animal-drawn carts and
animals have been suggested as potential intervention measures to alleviate RTCs in
the black spots. The study's final recommendation is for the police agencies to
manage their data in a better way. It also suggests examining the existing driver
training program systems, engineering measures, and the efficiency of the laws.
Keywords: RTCs, Geocoding, NKDE, Hotspot, and Black-spots