Drivers’ behaviour. Risk factors for road accidents and safety implications. A study of 1,489 cases in the province of Parma
Olimpia Pino, Annalisa Pelosi, Francesco Baldari
In order to identify the major risk factors for crashes in the area of the Province of Parma, North Italy,
Police Reports of 1,489 road accidents occurring in 2008 were analysed. Logistic regression was used to
evaluate the association between driver and accident characteristics with accident severity. Age groups
most involved in road crashes were 26-35 year olds and 36-45 year olds. Women were less frequently
involved in accidents than men. The hourly distribution of accidents for working days, Saturdays and
Sundays showed that the main differences were evident late at night (12 a.m.-3 a.m. on Sunday and
4-7 a.m. on Saturday, respectively). The youngest age group was involved in a greater number of
accidents, which greatly increased between 12 a.m.-3 a.m. As for the causes of road crashes, about
half of them were attributed to violations, while speeding was found to be the second most frequent
road crash cause, surpassing alcohol and drug abuse. The risk of involvement in severe rather than
non-severe accidents was significantly related to vehicle type, in that motorcycle drivers suffered more
serious injuries in comparison to car or lorry drivers. These data should influence local transport safety
measures and policies.
Keywords
Road accidents, Risk factors, Human error, Injuries, Safety.
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