Revealing the Spatial Pattern of Weather-Related Road Traffic Crashes in Slovenia

Autor: Danijel Ivajnšič, Nina Horvat, Igor Žiberna, Eva Konečnik Kotnik, Danijel Davidović
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Applied Sciences, Vol 11, Iss 14, p 6506 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2076-3417
DOI: 10.3390/app11146506
Popis: Despite an improvement in worldwide numbers, road traffic crashes still cause social, psychological, and financial damage and cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic product. However, none of the current commercial or open-source navigation systems contain spatial information about road traffic crash hot spots. By developing an algorithm that can adequately predict such spatial patterns, we can bridge these still existing gaps in road traffic safety. To that end, geographically weighted regression and regression tree models were fitted with five uncorrelated (environmental and socioeconomic) road traffic crash predictor variables. Significant regional differences in adverse weather conditions were identified; Slovenia lies at the conjunction of different climatic zones characterized by differences in weather phenomena, which further modify traffic safety. Thus, more attention to speed limits, safety distance, and other vehicles entering and leaving the system could be expected. In order to further improve road safety and better implement globally sustainable development goals, studies with applicative solutions are urgently needed. Modern vehicle-to-vehicle communication technologies could soon support drivers with real-time traffic data and thus potentially prevent road network crashes.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals