Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences

Year: 2011
Volume: 8
Issue: 6
Page No. 289 - 293

Analysis of Weather and Wet Road Crashes in Enugu Urban

Authors : I.C. Enete and I.N. Igu

Abstract: The problem of deaths and injuries as a result of traffic crashes has been acknowledged to be a global phenomenon. Wet weather contributes to several hazards within the transportation sector. The study focused only on vehicular types for example, cars, trucks, buses and motor cycles, etc. that plies on roads. The purpose of this study is to identify several potential interactions between specific rainfall characteristics and road crashes in Enugu urban. A range of statistical methods were employed in the analysis. The following statistical terms were adopted for the study and are defined in the text: Rain Crash Index (RCI), Wet Crash Rate (WCRi), Dry Crash Rate (DCRi), Rain Crash Effect (RCEi) and Rain Class Crash Rate (RCCRi). The research established some surprising results based on the analysis of WCRi and DCRi. About 29.8% of road crashes in Enugu occurred during wet months of 2009. It was surprising to observe that the highest wet crash occurred in the month of June (28 crashes) with only 10 wet days compared to the month of September with the highest wet days (22 days) and only 13 crashes. A negative rain crash effect during months of high rainfall may be the results of small dry spell, extra care of drivers during rainy days, low vehicle speed due to traffic congestion and runoff effect. It was also found that the effect of rainfall on road accident count depends on the length of time since the last rainfall (that is the impact of a dry spell). Large dry spell days recorded more accident counts. A shift from no dry spell to small dry spell days increased the average RCI by 26.4% while a shift from small to large dry spell increased the average RCI by 117.8%. Rainfall class and rain class crash rate showed that rainfall class of >30 mm reduced rain class crash rate more than rainfall class of between 0-1 mm (drizzling or light rainfall). Rainfall class (0-1 mm) had highest RCCRi (4.18) while rainfall class (>5-15) had lowest RCCRi (0.69). Some recommendations on areas for further research were made.

How to cite this article:

I.C. Enete and I.N. Igu, 2011. Analysis of Weather and Wet Road Crashes in Enugu Urban. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, 8: 289-293.

Design and power by Medwell Web Development Team. © Medwell Publishing 2024 All Rights Reserved