Over the past years, limited efforts were applied to
improving traffic safety in Palestinian cities. Therefore, establishing a
traffic safety program is essential to achieving this purpose. Since the
eruption of the Intifada in 2000, traffic crash reporting and recording system
suffered serious neglect.
Various forms are used for recording crashes; however, these forms are not
compatible with traffic safety needs; the manual system is still used. The
responsibility of monitoring and developing a traffic safety program at the
central government level is not clear due to the overlap of responsibilities.
The focus of this study is the on the planning component of a traffic safety
program, which includes collecting and maintaining data, identifying hazardous
locations, conducting safety studies, and establishing priorities.
The existing traffic accident police report was designed for the purposes of
police and insurance agencies.
A new comprehensive police accident report was designed. Procedures and
thresholds values for identifying hazardous locations were established for a sample
Palestinian city. The expected value statistical method was used as an
appropriate tool to determine critical values for identifying hazardous
locations based on the accident number-rate technique. Threshold values for
identifying hazardous locations for various classes of highways/intersections
were established.
Procedures, forms, and steps for conducting safety studies were proposed based
on modified international experiences to fit local conditions. The methodology
for establishing priorities was identified based on benefit/cost analysis. The
average accident cost by type was proposed in the study based on the records of
Palestinian insurance companies.