Spectrum Spatial (SSA/LIM)

There is a growing concern in traffic accident rate in complex urban network due to growing population, trade, vehicle ownership and traffic movements. Unfortunately, keeping pace with such rapid urbanization is difficult and hence poses a challenge in dealing with the road safety issues.

The occurrence of traffic crashes is random in space-time and tend to cluster in specific areas such as intersections, turns, and work zones etc. Moreover, weather stands out as an environmental risk factor that affects the crash rate too.

In this example, we will learn how to create crash hotspot map based on a historical crash data set and analyze spatiotemporal patterns of traffic accidents with a view to improving road safety. In order to analyze crash hotspot also known as “black zones” or “traffic accident zones”, kernel density clustering technique will be used . Based on calculation of traffic black zones, a number of strategies can be proposed to the traffic departments in order to solve the road safety problem.

Various such analysis and visualization can be easily performed in MapInfo Pro, a geospatial tool, and can be used to develop an innovative approach of safety data analysis.

Note: Example demonstration has been created using MapInfo Pro v17

Step by Step Guide to create Crash Hotspot Map

• Data Download

The home of the U.S. Government’s open data houses variety of data, tools, and resources to conduct research, develop web and mobile applications, design data visualizations etc. Crash data was downloaded from Data.gov website (https://catalog.data.gov/dataset?tags=crash) for this example demonstration.

• Data Preparation
  • Data Import
  • Calculate Statistics
  • Modify Table and Update Column Values
  • Conditional Update automation using MapBasic Script
  • Create Point Layer
• Hotspot Density Map Creation 
• Spatial Analysis and Save Workspace (for future reference) 

The crash hotspot maps demonstrates that over 85% of hotspot locations are located at intersections and in a downtown area with significant conflicts between road users. Information present in various fields such as weather conditions, illumination factors, road conditions, intersection type can help derive more crash pattern results.

The results could be used to assist transport authorities in identifying the most hazardous sites in a road network, prioritizing hotspot locations, and assessing the relationship between traffic accidents and seasons, road conditions, illumination factors etc and help improvise safety measures accordingly.