Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Road Accidents in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria Using Geographical Information System (GIS) Techniques

Aims: Road accidents have impacted adversely on the socio-economic development of cities in developing countries. Abuja, the administrative headquarters of Nigeria is known for regular occurrences of such accidents. This study attempted to identify factors responsible for these accidents and assessed their pattern with a view to mapping the black spots in the city using GIS techniques.
Study Design: The study was an attempt to investigate the various accident spots in Abuja, Nigeria in a bid to present a platform for proffering plausible solutions to the rampant road accidents in the city.
Place and Duration of Study: Abuja, Nigeria, between January 2011 to July 2011.
Methodology: Road accidents data from road users, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) were acquired using structured questionnaire. Also, secondary data including topographical map, quick bird image, accident records between 2009 and 2011, and GPS points of areas prone to road accidents were plotted on the Abuja base map. These data were integrated and analyzed using spatial analysis tools of AcrGIS 9.3. Table data were also imported into ArcGIS database. Overlay function and query operation were performed to determine the accident hotspots based on the frequency of road accidents and their spatio-temporal trend.
Results: Findings showed that Wuse maintained the highest black spots while Asokoro experienced the least. It was observed that accidents are caused by road, vehicle, driver and environmental factors.
Conclusion: The study recommends provision of functional traffic lights and defining danger times of high risk locations in Abuja.