Spatial Distribution of Road Accidents in Nablus 2000 – 2011) Using Geographic Information Systems

There has been much discussion regarding the traffic accidents in the Palestinian cities, and the cause of the damage to the national economy, it’s impact on the mortality and morbidity rates, which motivated the researcher to study this problem through the identification of traffic accidents in the city of Nablus by using geographical information systems (GIS), and to identify the streets prone to accidents, through reliance on data collected from traffic police in the city of Nablus for the years between (2000-2012), in order to identify the development of accident rates from one year to another, and analyze these incidents, and to identify the causes and trends, and then propose appropriate solutions that reduce the intensity of the problem. The study is divided into seven chapters, the first chapter includes information on the study area, the problem being researched, the study’s importance, objectives, and premises, the curriculum used in the study, and sources of information that had been relied on in the study. Chapter two examines the characteristics of the city of Nablus, such as location, climate, topography, geology, land, and the characteristics of the population. While chapter three discussed the traffic and pedestrian accidents, the stages of the accident, and the effects resulting from traffic accidents, and statistics on accidents in the West Bank. In chapter four, the development of the roads in Palestine and in the city of Nablus, and the numbers of vehicles. Chapter five deals with the analysis of the data relating to traffic accidents that have been collected by the traffic police in the city of Nablus, who have been studying the variance in time between traffic accidents in the city in terms of the development of incidents over the past three years, the spatial variation of accidents in the city, and the causes of traffic accidents, which focused on the human element, and the road and spacecraft. In addition, the types of accidents that occured in the city, the types of vehicles and gender (male and female) they were caused by were studied. The results from the research on accidents in the city of Nablus were obtained, and the narrowed in on Faisal street which is known to be the most prone to accidents. The production of maps by the program (GIS) showing the streets which contained accidents in the city for the years between (2000-2012). The location of the school have been studied also, and where they concentrated, and how near or far from the where the accidents happen. It should be noted that the research includes maps and tables, charts, graphs and the illustrations which serve the purposes of the research. The findings and recommendations are discussed in chapter six. One of the most significant findings of the researcher is that the incidents of accidents have increased by 163% between the years 2000 and 2012, especially within Faisal street, followed by Rafidia street, followed by Omar Bin Al-Khattab Street. One of the most important recommendations mentioned by the researcher is to improve the condition of the roads, increase traffic lights, crossing gaurds, and pedestrian lines. In addition, fining all those who participate in misconduct can lead to accidents, and to increase awareness campaigns regarding traffic are recommended.