Traffic Accident Spatial Simulation Modeling for Planning of Road Emergency Services

Abstract

The appropriate locations of road emergency stations (RESs) can help to decrease the impact of traffic accidents that cause around 50 million injuries per year worldwide. In this research, the appropriateness of existing RESs in the Khuzestan province, Iran, was assessed using an integrated fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) and geographic information system (GIS) approach. The data used in this research were collected from different sources, including the department of roads, the department of health, the statistics organization, forensics, police centers, the surveying and geological department, remotely-sensed and global positioning system (GPS) data of accident high crash zones. On the basis of previous studies and the requirements of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, as well as the department of roads of Iran for the location of RESs, nine criteria and 19 sub-criteria were adopted, including population, safety, environmental indicators, compatible area in RES, incompatible area in RES, type of road, accident high crash zones, traffic level and performance radius. The FAHP yielded the criteria weights and the ideal locations for establishing RESs using GIS analysis and aggregation functions. The resulting map matched the known road accident and high crash zones very well. The results indicated that the current RES stations are not distributed appropriately along the major roads of the Khuzestan province, and a re-arrangement is suggested. The finding of the present study can help decision-makers and authorities to achieve sustainable road safety in the case study area.of medical services, such as pre-hospital medical and transportation, trauma care and assistance for people who in need of emergency care [7]. Definitions differ, but in most cases, the geographical availability and provision of services are introduced as main factors [8,9]. Choosing optimal locations for emergency stations can help to achieve these aims. The locations of road emergency stations (RESs) are one of the most critical factors that can play a role in the degree of damage caused by accidents. Proper distribution of RESs is key to being able to respond to accidents within a standard time [10]. Therefore, determining optimum locations for RESs is a vital issue that road administrators face [11].After cardiovascular diseases, road accidents are the main reason for death in Iran [12][13][14]. Iran has a very high rate of road accidents; it is twenty times greater than that of the world's average [15]. The number of fatalities per 100,000 people per year for Iran is 32.1 (Figure 1). According to a UNICEF report, every 19 min one person passes away on Iran's roads, and every 2 min somebody is informed that one of his/her family members has survived a crash accident but with severe injury that may cause lifetime disability [16]. Each year, road traffic accidents cause the death of almost 28,000 people and disable or injure 300,000 more in Iran [12]. Cost of traffic fatalities in Iran is estimated at $6 billion U.S. every y...

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