Road Crash Severity Level in Urban Areas. A Study on Traffic Crashes in the Romanian Citie

Vasile ZOTIC¹, Diana-Elena ALEXANDRU*¹
* Corresponding author
¹ Babeș-Bolyai University, Faculty of Geography, Centre for Research on Settlements and Urbanism, Cluj-Napoca, ROMANIA
E-mail: vasile.zotic@ubbcluj.ro; ORCID: 0000-0002-4489-0637   
E-mail: diana.alexandru@ubbcluj.ro; ORCID: 0000-0002-2221-9316
Pages: 109-128. DOI: 10.24193/JSSP.2023.2.05

Cite: Zotic V., Alexandru D.-E. (2023), Road Crash Severity Level in Urban Areas. A Study on Traffic Crashes in the Romanian Cities. Journal of Settlements and Spatial Planning, 14(2), 109-128. DOI: 10.24193/JSSP.2023.2.05

Abstract. Road traffic in urban areas is highly prone to the occurrence of road crashes, while crash severity level differs at the city level and in relation to the leading cause. In the case of urban sustainable environments, strategic planning and development measures have been implemented for safer mobility by effective traffic management and road user education. Still, in crowded cities, where mobility and transit traffic are major factors, road crashes are the antithesis of road safety and they occur in simple or complex circumstances mostly related to road users and road infrastructure. The aim of this study was to define the severity level of road traffic crashes in the cities of Romania during the reference period 2008 – 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, while highlighting the leading causes of road crashes in urban areas that determine their highest occurrence and severity level. Official crash data records provided by the general Directorate of the Romanian Police were employed. The general severity degree of road crashes was calculated, particularly in relation to the first five leading causes, and cities were ranked accordingly. Results are rendered at the local level, for all 319 cities and towns in Romania, by the five leading causes and by severity level, comparatively for the years 2008 and 2019. Synthetically, we pinpoint the Romanian cities that are most affected by this phenomenon. This could help local and national decision-makers direct their focus towards mitigating the negative effects of the frequent crash triggering factors, decrease road crash severity levels and create customized measures for better traffic management and increased road safety at the local level.

K e y w o r d s: crash severity degree, urban areas, road safety, city ranking, Romania