Analysis of network attributes and traffic accidents in “school zones” in Belgrade

Jevremović, Sreten; Trpković, Ana · 2019 · Crossref

DOI: 10.31075/pis.65.04.05

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Summary

This study investigates the relationship between street network attributes and traffic accidents within "school zones" in Belgrade, Serbia. The research was motivated by the persistent safety risks for children, who are particularly vulnerable due to psycho-physical limitations, and the inadequacy of current regulatory measures. Although the 2009 amendments to the Road Traffic Safety Act legally defined "school zones," accident prevention often relies on universal measures rather than location-specific analyses. The authors aimed to determine how specific spatial and network characteristics influence accident frequency to inform better urban planning and safety interventions. The methodology involved analyzing 132 elementary schools across 15 municipal districts of Belgrade. Data were sourced from the Integrated Database of Road Safety Signs, Geosrbija, and Google Maps. The study focused on accidents occurring in 2018, categorizing network attributes into four variables: the number of surrounding streets, road category (local, collector, or arterial), groups of road categories, and network type (secondary, primary, or mixed). Accident severity was weighted to account for differences in consequences, with injuries and fatalities assigned higher weights than material damage. Linear correlation analysis was performed to assess the dependence between these network attributes and the weighted number of accidents. The results indicated 215 total accidents in Belgrade’s school zones in 2018, with 71.2% involving only material damage and 24.2% involving slight injuries. Five schools were identified as having the highest weighted accident rates, all located near urban arterials with high traffic volume and speed. Correlation analysis revealed no significant linear dependence between accident frequency and the number of surrounding streets or individual road categories. However, a moderate positive linear dependence was found between accident frequency and both the complexity of road category groups and the network type. Specifically, accident rates increased with network heterogeneity, being highest in "mixed" networks containing local, collector, and arterial roads. This variable explained 17% of the variance in accidents, while network type explained 21%. The study concludes that spatial placement and network homogeneity are critical factors in school zone safety. The authors recommend locating new schools in areas with homogeneous secondary road networks, such as residential zones, and avoiding mixed or primary network environments. For existing schools in high-risk locations, they advise orienting main entrances toward lower-ranking streets to minimize conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles. The findings emphasize that effective safety strategies must integrate spatial network analysis with behavioral factors, moving beyond generic measures to address the specific geometric and operational risks of each location.

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