An analysis of the cause of traffic accidents at the black spots

Since 1988, the number of fatal accidents in Japan had consistently exceeded the 10,000 level. The number of fatal accidents decreased below the 10,000 level only in 1996 and 1997. However, the total number of traffic accidents (both fatal and non-fatal) continues to increase, reaching about 770,000 in 1996. This clearly shows that there is a need to understand the causes of traffic accidents and enforce the appropriate countermeasures to decrease the frequency of such accidents. The purpose of this study is to summarize the causes of several types of traffic accidents, and identify the countermeasures needed at the black spots.