Analysis of increment of road traffic accidents in Libya: Case study city of Tripoli

Abstract

Traffic and highway engineers working with law enforcement officials are constantly seeking for better methods to ensure safety for motorists and pedestrians. The planning process requires that engineers collect and maintain traffic safety data, identify the hazards location, conduct studies and establish project priorities. Unfortunately, in Libya, the increase in demand for private transportation in recent years, due to poor or lack of public transportation led to some traffic problems, especially in the capital (Tripoli). Also, the growth of private transportation has significant influences on the society regarding road traffic accidents (RTAs). This study investigates the most critical factors affecting RTAs in Tripoli, the capital city of Libya. Four main classifications were chosen to build the questionnaire, namely; human factors, road factors, vehicle factors, and environmental factors. Moreover, the data was collected from 400 respondents in the study area, and the relative importance index (RII) was used to rank the factors. The results show that human factors have the most significant impacts compared with other factors. Moreover, 84% of respondents considered the over speeding as the most affect factor causes of RTAs while 81% considered the disobedience to driving regulations as the second most influential factor in human factors. Besides, 74% of respondents considered poor brakes or brake failure factors has a high impact on the RTAs among the vehicle factors, while 79% classified poor or non-street lighting factors as one of the most effective factors on RTAs in road factors. The environmental factors have slight influences on RTAs.