SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN THE IRAQI MIDDLE EUPHRATES PROVINCES: A CASE STUDY

Abstract

Traffic accidents are among the most important problems that leave economic and social impacts as a burden on the citizen. In addition, they leave economic costs in terms of material or human losses. Some traffic accidents lead to a permanent disability or temporary disability that needs a period of time, which of course, requires financial costs for the purpose of medical treatment. The problem of traffic accidents is witnessing an increase at the present time. This is primarily attributed to the increase in the number of residents and vehicles of various kinds. They leave negative effects, which became a human tragedy. Therefore, this problem can be attributed to a set of factors causing the increase in traffic accidents of various types, such as those accidents related to the driver, including lack of compliance with the law, regulations, traffic signals, lack of maintenance for the transportation network in general, as well as failure to adhere to the legal age related to the driver’s age and recklessness... etc. The present study aims to study traffic accidents in Iraq in general and in the Middle Euphrates region in particular, as it is a central focus in Iraq, in addition to identifying the causes that led to the development of the problem in the study area and thus taking measures that would reduce or limit the problem.Traffic accidents have recently increased in Iraq at high rates for the period (2001-2018). The total number of traffic accidents reached about (539,496) accidents, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Planning, the Central Agency, the Transportation and Communications Department. This number is considered high in comparison  with the population of Iraq.