Investigation of old road users safety in urban streets using real accidents data

Because of the frequency of accidents in urban streets, urban streets safety is one of the major issues in the field of traffic safety and transportation. The older road users (pedestrians, drivers) are the most vulnerable groups of road users. Statistics shows that about 30 percent of all accidents occurred in crashes in which older users (above 50 years) are involved. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting these users and determine their efficacy based on the occurred accidents. This study was performed using data of all accidents registered in Rasht city streets in 1393 and 1394 obtained from traffic control office of police. After data classification, for accident analysis, path analyzing and logistic regression methods used. The results of path analysis showed that in connection with elderly pedestrian accidents occurred on urban streets, human factors, environmental factors, lighting, weather conditions and vehicle factors had the greatest impact on the severity of accidents, respectively.. The result also showed that the highest indirect impact of variables belong to weather conditions. For older drivers, variable at-fault vehicle had the greatest impact on the severity of accidents. Also, human factors (older drivers) and environmental factor (lighting and weather conditions) compared to other factors had a greater impact on the severity of accidents on urban streets.