Evaluation of accident black spots on roads using geoinformatics tools in Kozhikode district, Kerala

Road network are the life line for the movement of people and freight and plays an important role in the development of a region but road accidents cause heavy burden on financial and social setup of an economy. According to a WHO report, road accidents will become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030. Despite lot of effort from various agencies in curbing traffic accidents, they are on the rise in developed country in general and developing countries in particular. The locations in a road stretch where higher number of road accidents occur during three years are called Black Spots. Kozhikode district has registered maximum number of accidents as per a study conducted by the Kerala Road Safety Authority. The present study attempts to identify the most vulnerable accident black spots in Kozhikode district in Kerala state. The study utilized the secondary accident data for the past three years for the study area and accident prone locations were prioritized using Weighted Severity Index (WSI) method. Ten black spots (five each in rural area and urban area) were identified using WSI method. Detailed GIS based analysis taking road and traffic data collected from the ten accident spots were performed and the most vulnerable spots were identified. The study attempts to find out the causative factors for accident and suggests measures to prevent accidents in future.