Profile of Pedestrian Crashes in Nablus Governorate
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Date
2019-02-10
Authors
Jaber, Ahmed
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Ahmed Husam Ahmed Jaber
Abstract
The safety of the pedestrians in Nablus City is one of the main concerns for the transportation engineers and decision makers. Nablus Governorate was chosen in this study since previous studies highlighted high pedestrian crash rates there. Therefore, this will be an essential direction for stakeholders to develop an action plan for pedestrian safety in Nablus.
The aim of this research is to study, analyze, and evaluate the pedestrian crashes in Nablus Governorate for the period of 2012 – 2016. This is investigated in terms of geographical distribution of pedestrian crashes in Nablus Governorate and their characteristics, and by conducting detailed profiles of pedestrian crashes in the most critical localities in the governorate and the most hazardous zones in Nablus City. Furthermore, the study analyzed the crashes according to their severity, and temporally and spatially. The data was collected from different sources, which included time and date of crashes, locations, demographic parameters, severity, type of vehicles, zones, etc.
Results indicated that Thursday had the highest number of crashes while Friday had the lowest. The period from noon to the late afternoon was the peak for pedestrian crashes, with 3:00-4:00 been the most dangerous hour for pedestrians.
Young children of less than 10 years old were the most vulnerable group to be involved in pedestrian crashes (36%); the majority was males (68%). Private cars were involved in the majority of crashes with 64.5%. Although public transportation vehicles form only 6% of the total vehicles in Nablus Governorate, they were involved in 25% of these crashes. In general, pedestrian crash severity was low as compared to selected international statistics.
Nablus City was the major locality in the Governorate with the highest number of people and vehicles; therefore, the results were generally similar to the Governorates’. Huwwara locality was ranked second after Nablus City in terms of pedestrian crashes frequency, and had the highest rate. Beita was third in terms of frequency and Biet Wazan was the second in terms of crash rate per capita. Huwwara was somehow different from the governorate status in terms of critical days, the highest age category, and KSI (Killed or Seriuosly Injured). Beita had pedestrian crashes all over the year with somehow steady weekly and monthly frequencies, and close to the Governorate results. The most hazardous zones where the roads of Faisal, Rafedia, Omar Khattab, Quds, Sufian, and Ras Alein.
The rate of crashes (crash/100,000 people) was the highest in Nablus City. Approximately, 7% of pedestrian crashes resulted in serious injury or fatality. Although, the majority of pedestrian crashes occurred in urban areas, their severity was higher in rural areas and in off-peak traffic periods.
Appropriate countermeasures, such as traffic calming, police enforcement, and upgrading of the pedestrian facilities should be implemented at the critical areas where pedestrian crashes are most frequent or severe. The responsible authorities should develop an action plan for the pedestrian safety program at the national level and provide for the appropriate regulatory environment. Comprehensive traffic safety awareness campaigns targeting drivers and pedestrians should be conducted. The traffic police could reallocate the limited human resources to the critical areas and times. Collaboration between traffic safety stakeholders, including community groups and public transport drivers, is needed to increase traffic safety awareness.
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Profile of Pedestrian Crashes in Nablus Governorate