Statistical Analysis on the Nature of Road Accident by Road User Category in Uganda, 2010-2018

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to analyze the nature of road accident by road user category in Uganda, 2010-2018. The study sought to answer the following research questions; to find out which road user category is involved in the most accidents in Uganda, to study the current trends of road crashes in Uganda, to identify contributing causes of road crashes among different categories of road users and to suggest possible counter measures and changes in behavior, road design and policy to improve road safety. The study was quantitative and utilized data from Uganda Police Annual Traffic reports for the period 2010-2018. The dependent variable was nature of road accident and the independent variable was road user category. A bivariate analysis was run to analyze the association between nature of road accident and road user category using one way anova. The effect of the independent variables on the dependent variable was determined using regression analysis. The study revealed that passengers have been the highest victims of serious injuries in Uganda from 2010-2018 followed by motor cyclists. The study found a significant relationship between the driver, motor cyclist, the pedestrians, and road accidents. This implied that their actions influenced the occurrence of road accidents. However, passengers and pedestrians were found to have an insignificant relationship with road accidents. However, this was contrary to the reports from Uganda police traffic reports. The trend analysis showed that the highest number of road accidents happened in 2010 and were minor while fatal accidents were highest in 2018. The findings further show that there has been increase in fatal accidents over the years. However, the minor and serious accidents have had an inconsistent rate with an increase in some years and a reduction in the consecutive year. It was recommended that the Traffic and Road Safety Directorate should enhance traffic police and Integrated Highway Police deployments along the highways to ensure high visibility, safety and security of all road users.