Traffic accident reductions in Saudi Arabia: barriers and the way forward

ATTIYAH M. AL-ATAWI, UNIVERSITY OF TABUK, SAUDI ARABIA
RAVINDRA KUMAR AND WAFAA SALEH, EDINBURGH NAPIER UNIVERSITY
Purpose – The main aim of this paper is to propose a framework to study, assess and enhance accident data collection and analysis in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
Design/methodology/approach – A framework for accident reduction by an integrated process which includes a risk identification, risk assessment and risk reduction process is proposed for Tabuk city in KSA.
Findings – Tabuk city has a high accident rate. The proposed framework will improve the data collection process, and analyse and identify hot spot locations along with accident severity if implemented.
Originality/value – It has been estimated that the annual cost of traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia exceeds 6 billion US dollars, in addition to other social, health and economic impacts, such as disability, rehabilitation and unemployment due to traffic accident injuries. There are not many studies, if any, in Tabuk in KSA on the investigation and development of a framework for accident reduction.
Keywords Traffic accident, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Risk Assessment Framework