Evaluation of accident black spots on roads using GIS

The police and the Brno-based Centre for Traffic Research are currently working on a unique project - the evaluation of so-called accident "black spots" or hazardous locations on roads in the entire Czech Republic. The resulting "black spot locations" map should not only serve drivers but also road maintenance in view of taking preventive measures.

Photo: CTK

Close to a thousand people are killed on Czech roads every year and although the cause of most of these fatal accidents tends to be driver related - speeding or drink driving - many of them happen in the same place - on dangerous stretches on some roads or at busy crossroads. For the past nine months the Brno-based Centre for Traffic Research has been working with police around the country to create a map of these hazardous locations. Pavel Tucka who heads the project, says that this new road-safety strategy project will be made available to the public this summer, exactly a year after the monitoring started:

"What the monitoring will bring is the precise location and cause of all accidents to which the police have been called in the course of the past year. The police report the precise location with the help of GSP and we compile the resulting black-spot map. This should enable road maintenance to affect preventive measures - for instance to put up a barrier around a dangerous crevice. The system should also help first aid crews and fire crews to improve their efficiency and interact better. This system is unique in Europe and possibly the world. Certainly no other European country has it."

Sometime after the summer holidays, drivers will be able to access a web portal with the black spot map, aerial photos of the hazardous locations and other relevant information. The monitoring process is of course continuous and changes will be projected as the situation develops. If it proves as efficient as experts predict, then the number of black spots should gradually decrease over time. And, if you are wondering which is the "blackest" of all black spots in the Czech Republic - then it is Strelecka Street in the town of Usti nad Labem north of Prague. The street is just 350 meters long but the police have been called to 36 accidents there in the first three months of this year alone.