Article
citation information:
Kurek, A., Jużyniec, J., Kielc, B. Analysis
of road safety in the city of Sosnowiec in the period 2006-2016. Scientific Journal of Silesian University of
Technology. Series Transport. 2018, 100,
69-79. ISSN: 0209-3324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20858/sjsutst.2018.100.6.
Agata KUREK[1], Jakub JUŻYNIEC[2], Bartosz KIELC[3]
ANALYSIS OF ROAD SAFETY IN THE CITY OF
SOSNOWIEC IN THE PERIOD 2006-2016
Summary. The article discusses
the level of road safety in the case of the city of Sosnowiec. Traffic safety
was compared over a 11-year period from 2006 to 2016. The data were obtained
from the municipal police headquarters in Sosnowiec. The authors of this
publication created a graphical presentation of traffic incidents with their
participants and causes. Numerical data have been presented, and separated into
road accidents and collisions as well as injured and fatalities. The age and
sex characteristics of the perpetrators of road accidents were presented. The QGIS program was also used for the analysis, which allowed
us to map the most dangerous intersections in Sosnowiec.
Keywords: road safety; road
accidents; person injured; person killed.
1. INTRODUCTION
Road accidents involving humans have
occurred since the beginning of motorization. Some of the earliest victims were
participants in car rallies at the end of the 19th century, with the main issue
is recklessness, as well as low speeds achieved by the vehicles, improper road
surfaces and the non-observance of the spectators and pedestrians
[13,14,16,17]. The first road incident occurred just after the construction of
a stream-driven vehicle in 1769. The designer and constructor
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, while driving the car, hit a
wall. The first event involving two vehicles took place in 1893, while, in
Europe, in 1896, the first pedestrian fatality in a road incident was recorded
[3].
The mobility indicator in Poland has been
growing continuously for several decades, including in the city of Sosnowiec.
In 2016, it amounted to 611 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants [7]. More and more
vehicles on the road have a negative impact on road safety, because road
infrastructure is not adapted to such large numbers of vehicles. Additionally,
there is a problem with the interlacing of streams with different
structures. Transit traffic and external traffic are mixed with local and
access traffic [4,15].
The analysis of road safety in the city is
carried out to determine the critical points in the road network, which
elements affect the occurrence of road events and how these factors change over
time. You can also specify the most dangerous points on the streets of a city
[4]. In this paper, it was decided to carry out such an analysis for the city
of Sosnowiec in the period 2006-2016.
2. THE CONDITION OF SAFETY ON ROADS IN POLAND AND
SILESIAN PROVINCE
According to [2], traffic safety it is a feature of
the road transportation system, characterized as a condition in which there is
no danger. A traffic accident is an incident that takes place in the area of a
road, in which people are injured or killed. Meanwhile, a collision is an
incident in which there are only financial losses [1,17].
Poland is poorly positioned in rankings
comparing traffic safety in all EU countries [8]. From 2007 (excluding 2011), a
decrease the number of traffic accidents can be observed. However, in 2016,
this number rose again (Figure 1). A similar situation can be observed in the
case of injured people [7]. The number of traffic incidents remains at a high
level.
Fig. 1. Traffic accidents, injuries and
fatalities in the period 2006-2016 in Poland [7]
In the Silesian
Province, a decrease in the number of traffic incidents took place from 2007
(Figure 2); however, the number of incidents in 2011 was the same as in 2010.
The number of people killed fell from 2007 to 2014, but, from 2014 to 2016, no
further decline took place. The number of people injured, however, decreased
consistently between 2007 and 2016 [7].
Fig. 2. Traffic accidents, injuries and
fatalities in the period 2006-2016 in Silesia [7]
3. ROAD SAFETY
SITUATION IN SOSNOWIEC FROM 2006 TO 2016
Every
year between 2006 and 2016, in the city of Sosnowiec, 2,000 to 2,500 traffic
accidents were recorded. A downward trend can be observed in the early years of
this period (Figure 3). Since 2014, the number of road accidents has been
increasing, and, in 2016, it was the highest in relation to the analysed period
of time.
Fig. 3.
Traffic incidents in the city of Sosnowiec in the period 2006-2016
In
2016, there were 199 road accidents on the streets of Sosnowiec, in which eight
people died and 225 were injured (Table 1). Analysing data from 2015, the
number of injuries has not changed, although the safety situation has
deteriorated. The number of road traffic accidents and their participants was
at a similar level to that in 2006.
In
2016, the number of accidents increased by 14 (an increase of 7%) compared to
2015. There was also, in the case of fatalities, an increase of 50%. However,
the number of collisions increased by 383 (an increase of 16% compared to
2015).
Between
2006 and 2016, the average annual number of fatalities was more than 10, with
eight victims below this average in 2016. The highest number of deaths occurred
in 2007. In the same year, there were also the highest number of accidents
and of injuries. The lowest number of road accidents and collisions was in
2013, while the lowest number of accidents and fatalities occurred in 2015.
2009 was characterized by the lowest number of injured persons.
Table 1
Traffic
incidents in the period 2006-2016 in Sosnowiec
|
Year |
Number of incidents |
Number of accidents |
Number of deaths |
Number of injured |
Number of collisions |
|
2006 |
2457 |
199 |
15 |
224 |
2,258 |
|
2007 |
2205 |
236 |
23 |
314 |
1,969 |
|
2008 |
2096 |
197 |
17 |
239 |
1,899 |
|
2009 |
2082 |
187 |
13 |
207 |
1,895 |
|
2010 |
2390 |
195 |
13 |
222 |
2,195 |
|
2011 |
2071 |
197 |
9 |
229 |
1,874 |
|
2012 |
2076 |
186 |
5 |
213 |
1,890 |
|
2013 |
2102 |
202 |
6 |
245 |
1,900 |
|
2014 |
2017 |
201 |
5 |
246 |
1,816 |
|
2015 |
2196 |
185 |
4 |
225 |
2,011 |
|
2016 |
2593 |
199 |
8 |
225 |
2,394 |
4. ANALYSIS OF
TRAFFIC INCIDENT CAUSES IN THE PERIOD 2006-2016 IN SOSNOWIEC
To
counteract threats concerning road traffic, it is necessary to analyse the
causes and culprits of traffic incidents. Therefore, it is essential to
assemble data. In Poland, such analyses are based on traffic incident reports.
However, data from these reports are not always comprehensive, so specific
analyses are impossible. The problem also affect this research. Data received
from the main police headquarters contain a large number of incidents, without
information on which intersections they took place; this means there are no
data about which streets are more prone to road accidents.
Figure
4 presents the number of traffic incidents and the main causes for the period
2006-2016 in the Sosnowiec area. The main reasons behind those incidents are
speed non-adjustment due to traffic conditions (6,029 incidents) and not
keeping a safe distance between vehicles (5,073 incidents). The least number of
incidents (93) were caused by incorrect changes between road lanes. In the
examined period, there were other factors not related to incorrect driver
behaviours, with the most frequent cause being the poor condition of the
roadway.
The
main reason for traffic incidents between 2006 and 2016, in which 118 people
were killed, was speed non-adjustment due to traffic conditions. Therefore,
vehicle speed has a significant impact on the extent of participants’
injuries during traffic accidents. This factor affects different traffic
participants. For example, a pedestrian hit by a car at a speed of 50 km/h has
less chance of survival than a pedestrian hit by a car at a speed of 30 km/h
(Table 2).
Figure
5 presents the causes of traffic incidents in which no less than 10 people were
killed. It can be observed that between three and five causes are related to
pedestrians. This means that, during any traffic incident, unprotected traffic
participants have the least chance of survival.
Fig. 4.
Traffic incidents by cause in the period 2006-2016 in Sosnowiec
Table 2
Probability of occurrence of the effects
of an accident when the vehicle has been approached by a pedestrian
|
Velocity |
Slightly injured |
Heavily injured |
A death victim |
|
30 km/h |
63% |
29% |
8% |
|
40 km/h |
40% |
36% |
24% |
|
50 km/h |
22% |
39% |
39% |
|
70 km/h |
- |
14% |
86% |
Source:
[1]
Fig. 5.
Deaths by cause in the period 2006-2016 on the roads in Sosnowiec
Figure
6 presents the most frequently occurring causes of traffic incidents involving
pedestrians. In 324 incidents, the main reason was carelessly running by a
pedestrian onto the road in front of a moving vehicle, while the least amount
of incidents was caused by crossing a road when the lights were on red for
pedestrians.
Fig. 6.
Road incidents where pedestrians were at fault in the period 2006-2016 in
Sosnowiec
5. ANALYSIS OF
THE ROAD TRAFFIC PERPETRATORS IN THE PERIOD
2006 - 2016 IN SOSNOWIEC
On
analysing the graph in Figure 7, it can be observed that, in the analysed
period, the largest group of road traffic perpetrators comprised adults aged
25-39 years and 40-59 years. For all perpetrators, they accounted for 70% of
the total. On the other hand, people aged 60 or over were responsible for 2,423
road accidents. Children and young people did not cause any traffic incidents.
Fig. 7.
Share of individual age groups in the occurrence of road incidents in the
period
2006-2016 in Sosnowiec
The
graph in Figure 8 shows the number of pedestrian perpetrators of road accidents
in relation to their age. Analysing the situation, we can observe that the
highest share (66% of road incidents) are caused by those in the 25 years and
older range. It is surprising that, among children and young people up to 18
years of age, we can distinguish the seven to 14 years age group, which is
characterized by the highest share of perpetrators of road accidents.
According
to Figure 8, it can also be concluded that, during road accidents, more people
were slightly or severely injured and a small number of people died. The most
frequent fatalities in road accidents, where the perpetrator was a pedestrian,
were people aged 60 or over (14 people) and 40-59 (13 people). In the case of
injured people, the largest number of participants was aged 40-59 (78 persons)
and 25-39 (67 persons). The seven to 14 years age group also stands outs, with
58 injuries.
Fig. 8.
Number of traffic incidents and people injured or killed in road accidents
where pedestrians were at fault in the period 2006-2016 in Sosnowiec
According
to [7], in 2006, there were 117,588 women and 106,656 men in Sosnowiec, while,
in 2016, there were 108,421 women and 97,452 men. In the period 2006-2016,
there were 486 traffic incidents in Sosnowiec in which pedestrians were
perpetrators. The analysis was based on gender (Figure 9) and shows that men
have the largest share in terms of the occurrence of road accidents (333
cases). In the case of women, they are more likely to be victims (injured or
fatalities) of road accidents.
Fig. 9.
Division of pedestrians - perpetrators of road accidents by sex in the period
2006-2016 in Sosnowiec
The
division of road accidents by the sex of the perpetrator is presented in Figure
10. Men represent the largest group of the analysed case. Their share is four
times higher than the share for women in road accidents. They dominate the
group of those injured and killed in road accidents. In Sosnowiec, the number
of men holding a driving licence is almost four times higher than that for
women [7].
Fig. 10.
Distribution of the perpetrators of road traffic incidents by sex in the period
2006-2016 in Sosnowiec
One
of the macro indicators used to analyse road safety is the number of accidents
per one million inhabitants Wm [1]:
where:
M - the number of
residents
According
to the trend line, this indicator is slowly declining from year to year. This
means that, despite the decreasing number of accidents (Figure 11), the
demographic indicator is decreasing [7] and the probability that a resident of
Sosnowiec will be a participant in road accident is increasing.
Fig. 11.
Value of the Wm index for the residents of Sosnowiec in the period
2006-2016
The
map in Figure 12 illustrates the locations of fatal accidents in the period
2006-2014, because, for 2015 and 2016, there are no data regarding the streets
where deadly road incidents occurred. The highest number of accidents took
place on National Road No. 94, near the border with the city of Dąbrowa Górnicza. At
the intersection of General Mariusz Zaruski Street, 11 November Street, Mieroszewscy
Brothers Street and Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły
Street, there were three fatal accidents. In the analysed period, an equal
number of fatal accidents occurred on the S86
Expressway, which is one of the main access roads into Sosnowiec. Most
individual accidents took place on 3 May Street (purple on the map in Figure
14) and near the city centre, which is coloured red on the map.
Fig. 12.
Locations of fatal road accidents in the period 2006-2016 in Sosnowiec
Source: Own
elaboration with the help of the QGIS program
6. SUMMARY
Road
safety in Sosnowiec can be assessed as unsatisfactory. The increase in the
number of road accidents in 2016 is the highest in 10 years, during which there
were 2,184 accidents, where 118 people were killed and 2,589 were injured. The
reason for these road accidents is not so much the increase in the number of
vehicles on the road as the human factor. In order to increase traffic safety,
it is necessary to carry out comprehensive activities. The awareness of road
users about the effects of careless driving and causing road accidents should
be enhanced. The modernization of road infrastructure may also contribute to
the elimination of dangerous places in road traffic [5]. These and other
activities may have a positive impact on the reduction of road accidents and
fatalities.
Based
on the analysis of the state of road safety in Sosnowiec, we can distinguish
pedestrian participants in road incidents in the age range of 40 to 59 years.
These people, despite the fact that they have a high awareness of traffic
regulations resulting from knowledge obtained in the course of education and
life experience, are the main perpetrators of traffic accidents. The second
main group of pedestrians, i.e., perpetrators and victims of road incidents,
are children in the age range of seven to 14 years. According to [6], children over
seven years of age may already be entering onto the road without being in the
care of an adult. It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to provide
knowledge about the safe crossing of roads. Schools also have a large role to
play here. However, children in this age range may be too carefree to learn the
rules of road traffic.
Conducting
similar analyses allows us to link causes with the number of accidents, and
thus allows us to take actions aimed at preventing the occurrence of dangerous
road accidents [1]. Furthermore, in further research, some important factors
should be consider based on new solutions such as 3D navigation [9], autonomous
vehicles [10] or new approaches to drive education [11,18].
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Received 04.03.2018; accepted in revised form 11.08.2018
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