Analysis of the Occurrence of Different Types of Traffic Accidents in Pérez Zeledón County, Costa Rica

Abstract

In Costa Rica, road accidents occurrence is one of the most serious problems in the transport system. In the county of Pérez Zeledón, there has been an additional increase due to the widening of 7.7 kilometers of the National Route 2. This road has an inappropriate design for an urban environment, and it doesn't have the adequate safety measures. A total amount of 825 road accidents were located, of the year 2005 in the districts of San Isidro and Daniel Flores, by using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The first part of the analysis (descriptive analysis), was made relating the main variables between them. After that, a more specific analysis took place along the 23 kilometers of this road that goes through San Isidro and Daniel Flores. Then, with regards to the identification of critical risky points, 27 points were located along the National Route 2, 19 of them along the widened section. Finally, a statistical analysis was made, using the "odds ratio" (OR) and relative risk (RR) methods. This analysis verifies that this section of National Route 2 has a very high dangerous index, giving a partial solution to the cars' mobility, without considering pedestrians' and cyclists' mobility.