Hotspots of road traffic crashes in a redeveloping area of Shanghai

ABSTRACT

To identify high-risk locations (hotspots) of road traffic crashes (RTC) in a redeveloping area of Shanghai, for formulating relevant countermeasures in similar areas. After geocoding the crash locations on electronic map, assessment of spatial clustering of accidents and hotspots spatial densities was conducted following Moran's I method, the kernel density estimation, the Ripley's K-function and the network-based kernel density estimation (NKDE). A total of 21,679 RTC incidents resulting in 24,147 victims were recorded from 2010 to 2012. RTCs tended to occur among male (81.8%) aged 20–49 years old (84.9%) riding buses (60.1%) or electric bikes (16.1%) in working time (15%). The network spatial analysis pinpointed the hotspots of RTC at the street level in the Songjiang new urban area, and more RTCs occurred at road intersections than on road segments. Findings from this research may help the authorities develop efficient programmes to target high-risk locations and specific vulnerable populations.

KEYWORDS:

• Hotspot
• spatial analysis
• road traffic crashes
• Songjiang
• Shanghai

Acknowledgments

The authors are very thankful to the anonymous reviewers for their invaluable comments and suggestions to improve the content and presentation of the manuscript. However, the authors remain responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein.

Ethical approval

The study was approved by the Fudan University School of Public Health Institutional Review Board (IRB#2015-04-0547) on 15 April 2015.

Disclosure statement

None declared.

Additional information

Funding

The Fourth Round of Three-year Public Health Action Plan of Shanghai by Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Familty Planning. GWIV-27.3