STUDY ABOUT TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

WelcomeTo

PRESENTATION BY :

SYED ABDUL MUQEET 06J61A0116

Contents:

INTRODUCTION

CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS

VARIOUS CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS

ACCIDENT STUDIES AND RECORDS

ACCIDENT REPORT

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS

MEASURES FOR THE REDUCTION IN ACCIDENT RATES

INTRODUCTION

More than a million people are killed on the world's roads each year. The total is expected to increase steeply as the number of motor vehicles increases rapidly in many formerly less-motorized countries, and will likely exceed 2 million by the year 2020.

Traffic crashes are one of the world's largest public health problems. The problem is all the more acute because the victims are overwhelmingly young and healthy prior to their crashes.

Injuries due to traffic crashes vastly outnumber fatalities, with over 5 million occurring per year in the INDIA, most of them minor.

CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS

There are FOUR basic Elements in a TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

The road users The vehicles The road and its conditions, and Environmental factors-traffic, weather etc.

VARIOUS CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS

DRIVERS: Excessive speed and rash driving, carelessness, violation of rules and regulations, failure to see or understand the traffic situation, sign or signal, temporary effects due to fatigue, sleep or alcohol.

PEDESTRIANS: Violating regulations, carelessness in using the carriageway meant for vehicular traffic.

PASSENGERS: Alighting from or getting into moving vehicles.

VEHICLE DEFECT: Failure of brakes, steering system, or lighting system, tyre burst and any other defect in the road surface.

ROAD CONDITION: Slippery or skidding road surface, pot holes, ruts and other damaged conditions of the road surface.

VARIOUS CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS

ROAD DESIGN: Defective geometric design like inadequate sight distance, inadequate width of shoulders, improper curve design, Improper lighting and improper traffic control devices.

WEATHER: Unfavorable weather condition like mist, fog, snow, dust, smoke or heavy rainfall which restricts normal visibility and renders driving unsafe.

ANIMALS: Stray animals on the road.

OTHER CAUSES: Incorrect signs or signals, gate of level crossing not closed when required, ribbon development, badly located advertisement boards or service station etc.

ACCIDENT STUDIES AND RECORDS

The various steps involved in traffic accident data is the first step in the accident studies are collection of accident data, preparation of reports, location file and diagrams, application of the above records for suggesting preventive measures.

COLLECTION OF ACCIDENT DATA :

GENERAL

LOCATION

DETAILS OF VEHICLES INVOLVED

NATURE OF ACCIDENT

ROAD AND TRAFFIC CONDITIONS

ACCIDENT REPORT

The accident should be reported to police authorities who would take legal action especially in more serious accidents involving injuries, causality or severe damage to property.

LOCATION FILES: These are useful to keep a check on the location of accident and to identify points of high incidents.

SPOT MAPS: Accident location spot maps show accidents by spots, pins or symbols on the map.

CONDITION DIAGRAM: A condition diagram is a drawing to scale showing all important physical conditions of an accident location to be studied.

COLLISION DIAGRAM: It is most useful to compare the accidents patterns before and after the measures have been taken.

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS

It is suggested that a mobile laboratory may be kept ready in every city. And a traffic engineer and his assistance may form the proposed mobile laboratory which should reach the accident spot as soon as possible after an accident.

Measurement of length of skid marks due to partial and full skidding.

Details of accident, injuries and damages.

Analysis of breath of drivers involved in the accident for alcohol content (using a suitable breathalyzer; if alcohol consumptions is indicated above a prescribed limit, collection of blood sample).

The following investigations may carried out to enable analysisof the accident on a scientific basis.

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS

The average skid resistance of the road surface along the skid marks should be measured under the prevailing condition of the surface soon after the accident.

Tests on the condition of brakes and steering of the vehicles involved. Tests on essential accessories and general condition of the vehicles involved in the accident.

Injuries and fatalities of persons involved

Damages to the vehicles.

Property damages.

Other consequence including traffic delay.

Investigations and legal proceeding.

MEASURMENTS FOR THE REDUCTION IN ACCIDENT RATES

The various measures to decrease the accident rates may be divided into three groups:

ENGINEERING MEASURES:

Road design: The geometric design features of the road such as sight distances, width of pavement, horizontal and vertical alignment design details and intersection design elements are checked and corrected if necessary.

Preventive maintenance of vehicles: The braking system, steering and lighting arrangements of vehicles plying on the roads may be checked at suitable intervals and heavy penalties on defective vehicles.

Road lighting: Proper road lighting can decrease the rate of accident during night, due to poor visibility.

ENFORCEMENT MEASURES

The various measures of enforcement that may be useful to prevent accidents at spots prone to accidents are enumerated here.

Speed control: To enable drivers of buses to develop correct tachometers may be fitted so as to give the record of speeds.

Traffic control devices: Signals may be redesigned or introduced if necessary.

Traffic and supervision: The transport authorities should be strict in testing and issuing license to drivers of public service vehicles and taxies.

Medical check: The drivers should be tested for vision and reaction time at prescribed intervals, says, once in three years.

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