Analyzing Traffic Accident and Casualty Trend Using Data Visualization

Motor vehicle is the backbone of the modern transportation system worldwide. However, the excessive number of motor vehicles tend to cause traffic accidents leading to numerous casualties. Analyzing existing works on this area, this study has identified prime reasons behind traffic accidents and casualties. They include driving over the speed limit, Age of drivers and pedestrians, environmental condition, location and road types. It has also reviewed and identified several data visualization methods and visualization techniques that have been proposed by many researchers. The objective of this research endeavour is to identify the factors behind traffic accidents, determine the techniques that are used to visualize data, develop a dashboard using data visualization tools to visualize traffic accident trend and to evaluate the functionality of the dashboard which is developed on United Kingdom's (UK) traffic accident dataset from 2014 to 2016. Upon performing data cleaning, preprocessing and filtering, the raw data has been converted into cleaned, filtered and processed data to create a coherent and properly linked data model. Then, using the Power BI visualization tool, various interactive visualizations have been produced that illustrated several significant trends in accident and casualties. The visualization trend revealed that between 2014 to 2016, majority of the accidents in the UK occurred in the urban area, in the single carriageway, on the dry road surface, under the daylight with fine weather, and when the speed limit was below 30 mph. This research may assist UK's traffic management authority to identify the underlying factors behind the traffic accident and to detect the traffic accident and casualty trend in order to take necessary steps to reduce casualties in traffic accidents.