DATA ANALYSIS OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS AND THEIR CAUSES IN GOMEL FOR 2013 AND 2014

Abstract

<p>Measures undertaken for improvement of road traffic safety presuppose clampdown on violation of road traffic regulations but no attention is paid to the fact that there is no possibility to ensure road traffic safety due to inconformity of roads to the modern safety requirements. Therefore reduction in accident rate is connected with some changes in approaches to designing, construction and maintenance of roads. Nowadays when the number of automobiles is extremely large and their number is increasing with every passing year driver’s professionalism becomes the most significant factor. In these circumstances the professionalism is demonstrated not so much while driving in bad road conditions as it was previously but the professionalism is more revealed in the case when it is necessary to drive in conditions of large workloads and high manoeuvring rate when a special important role is given to the capability to forecast a situation, in other words the capability to read the road. Moral climate on the road is no less important as well and it practically fully depends on a driver.</p><p>The paper contains an analysis of the Gomel traffic police data on quantitative distribution of road traffic accidents and their victims according to the time of day and month, lighting conditions, weather conditions, age and sex factors, types of violations. Situations of traffic behavior, motivations of drivers and road users, drivers training have been shown in terms of impact on the road traffic accident risk. The paper considers a human factor which rather often causes an accident. An evaluation has been given to such factor as road speed of transport facilities which exerts a significant influence on an accident risk and its severity.</p>