Content uploaded by H. R Al-Masaeid
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by H. R Al-Masaeid on Apr 19, 2016
Content may be subject to copyright.
Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Volume 3, No. 4, 2009
- 331 -
Traffic Accidents in Jordan
Hashem R. Al-Masaeid 1)
1) Civil Engineering Dept., Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan,
(In a sabbatical leave at Aal Al-Bayt University, Al-Mafraq, Jordan). E-Mail: masaeid@aabu.edu.jo
ABSTRACT
In Jordan, traffic accidents constitute a major health problem. They are considered the second leading cause of
death. This paper investigated the characteristics of traffic accidents in Jordan and evaluated the safety impact of
policy measures undertaken in 2008, including intensification of police enforcement and implementation of
traffic law with stiff penalty levels. To accomplish these objectives, accidents’ data of 1998 through 2007 were
obtained from Jordan Traffic Institute and other related sources.
Results of analysis revealed that Jordan has experienced huge human and economic losses as well as social and
emotional negative impacts. Children, young and elderly have been exposed to an elevated pedestrian accident
risk. Young drivers of ages less than 25 years and elderly of ages over 60 years are over-involved in accidents.
Carelessness and aggressive driving behavior were the major causes of traffic accidents. The results of analysis
also indicated that motorization level can be used to explain variations in traffic accidents and fatalities.
Furthermore, intensifying of traffic enforcement and implementing traffic law with stiff penalty levels were
found to have a strong positive safety impact on accidents and fatalities. Finally, it is recommended to restructure
and empower the Higher Council for Traffic Safety to be able to draw a comprehensive strategy with clear vision
and rational safety policies to tackle the traffic accidents’ problem.
KEYWORDS: Traffic accidents, Safety measures, Jordan.
INTRODUCTION
Traffic accidents are increasingly being recognized as
a major cause of death and a growing health problem.
They kill 1.2 million people each year and injure or
disable as many as 50 million people more. According to
the World Health Organization (Toroyan and Peden,
2007), traffic accidents are the second leading cause of
death globally among children and youth people. In
addition to pain, grief and social suffering, these
accidents cost countries 1% to 2% of their gross national
products (Peden et al., 2004). Thus, the reduction of
accidents and their consequences is of great importance
to all countries.
Traffic accidents are a complex phenomenon. They
are caused by a multitude of factors, including roadway
and its environment, road users’ behavior and vehicle
aspects. Accident analysis revealed that traffic risk is a
function of exposure, probability of involvement and
probable severity. Exposure to vehicular and other
conflicts that are susceptible to accident occurrences
depends on motorization level, land use and road
planning. There have been several studies relating
accidents to these exposure measures (Mittal, 2008; Al-
Masaeied and Suleiman, 2004; Brindle, 2001; Al-
Masaeied et al., 1997). Road users’ behavior, vehicle
speed and vehicle and roadway conditions affect the
likelihood of involvement. Studies indicated that young
Accepted for Publication on 1/10/2009.
© 2009 JUST. All Ri
g
hts Reserved.
Traffic Accidents… Hashem R. Al-Masaeid
- 332 -
age and inexperience drivers contribute to a high level of
risk involvement. Recently, studies conducted in France
and Finland (Constant et al., 2008; Rijkka and Mikko,
2008) pointed out that intensification of speed control
with stiffer penalties resulted in significant reduction of
injury and lethal accidents. Other studies (McLean and
Kloeden, 2002) reported that an increase of 5 km/hr
above the speed limit of 60 km/hr in rural areas would
double the risk of accident involvement. Also, the
improvement of road conditions and its environment and
the implementation of low-cost measures have a great
impact on lowering accident involvement rates or severity
(Harkey et al., 2008; Elvik and Vaa, 2004; Al-Masaeid,
1997). Finally, in-vehicle protection devices; such as
seat-belt, air-bag and child constraint, are very effective
in reducing accident severity.
Realizing traffic accidents as a preventable problem,
developed countries have implemented different policies
and measures to reduce this problem (Jorgesen, 2002).
These include enforcement, education, training and
engineering improvements. Unlike developed countries,
the problem of traffic accidents in developing countries is
still considered as a matter of fate or unavoidable cost of
development. Without remarkable efforts to enhance
traffic safety in developing countries, the number of
deaths due to traffic accidents is expected to increase by
80% between 2000 and 2020 (Jacob and aeron-Thomas,
1999). Thus, developing countries are required to analyze
the problem and determine appropriate measures to revert
the upward tendency in the number and severity of traffic
accidents.
In Jordan, traffic accidents constitute a major health
problem. Although previous studies (Al-Suleiman and
Al-Masaeid, 1992; Al-Masaeid and Nelson, 1996; Al-
Masaeid, 1998) have addressed accident characteristics in
Jordan, these characteristics might change with time due
to change in motorization, infrastructure development,
legislation and educational levels. It is worth mentioning
that the government of Jordan has applied a new traffic
law and intensified police activities in 2008. Thus,
periodic investigation of accident characteristics is vital
to define target groups for further actions and measures,
and to help decision makers set rational policies and
strategies to curb this problem.
The main objectives of this paper were: First; to
quantify the accident problem in Jordan and its
characteristics, including involvement rates of
pedestrians, drivers and vehicles. Second; to estimate the
socio-economic impact of 2008 policy measures, and
suggest guidelines for improving road safety in Jordan.
To accomplish these objectives, data on traffic accidents
were collected from the annual reports of Jordan Traffic
Institute (1998-2008). Involvement rates were computed
based on the data of 2005 through 2007, while statistical
relationships were developed using the data of 1998
through 2007.
BACKGROUND
Jordan is located in the Middle East region, with an
area of 90 thousand sq. km and a population of about 5.8
million people. The problem of traffic accidents started to
appear as a serious issue in the mid 1980s. In 2007, traffic
accidents were considered the second leading cause of
death in Jordan. During the past 20 years, the number of
accidents increased from 15884 accidents in 1987 to
110630 accidents in 2007. For the same period, the
number of population and the number of vehicles
increased only by approximately 2 and 3 folds,
respectively. Obviously, this situation is not surprising,
because Jordan has not yet applied a comprehensive
strategy to reduce this problem (Katamine, 1999).
At the end of January 2008, as a result of the drastic
increase in traffic accident casualties and after a horrific
bus accident on Irbid-Amman highway, his majesty King
Abdullah II instructed the government to draw a
comprehensive strategy to curb accidents and casualties
in Jordan. Chairing a meeting of the Higher Council for
Traffic Safety, the King said that the strategy on traffic
safety should be implemented in line with a timetable and
a clear program. Also, the Monarch stressed the
importance of drafting a law to activate the Council’s
role, tasks and duties. Accordingly, the previous traffic
law (No. 49, 2001) was substituted by a new temporary
Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Volume 3, No. 4, 2009
- 333 -
traffic law (No. 52, 2007) which imposed stiffer
penalties. Concomitantly with the application of the new
law, traffic police activities were intensified and targeted
drivers’ errors, particularly excessive speeds. After four
months, the new traffic law was relaxed, and a less
restrictive permanent traffic law (No. 49, 2008) was
issued in July 2008 and applied since August 2008.
However, police enforcement activities continued at the
same level or even more up to the present time. Starting
from Feb. 2008, the Higher Council for Traffic Safety,
under the chairmanship of the prime minister, has met
once a month to follow road safety issues.
Table (1): Population, Vehicle Ownership, Accidents and Fatalities in Jordan.
Year Population
(thousand)
Vehicle
Ownership
( thousand)
No. of Accidents
( thousand) Fatalities
1998 4755.8 389.20 43.343 612
1999 4900.0 418.43 50.330 676
2000 5039.0 473.34 52.796 686
2001 5182.0 509.83 52.662 783
2002 5329.0 542.81 52.913 758
2003 5480.0 517.50 62.115 832
2004 5350.0 612.33 70.266 818
2005 5473.0 679.73 83.129 790
2006 5600.0 755.48 98.055 899
2007 5728.0 841.93 110.630 992
TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS ANALYSIS
Quantification of the Problem
Table (1) presents the growth of population, vehicle
ownership, traffic accidents and fatalities between 1998
and 2007. As shown in the table, there are dramatic
increases in traffic accidents and the resulting fatalities
over the past ten years. Also, Table (1) indicates that
traffic fatalities have grown faster than the population.
For Jordan, Figure (1) illustrates that fatality risk
continued to rise. In contrast, fatality risks for different
developed countries actually decreased with time.
According to 2007 statistics, the fatality rate in Jordan
was 12 compared with 1.6 fatalities per 10000 registered
vehicles in USA. Considering both of fatality risk and
rate for Middle East and North Africa region, MENA,
Jordan ranked number five. Similar to some countries in
the region (Abdulmajid, 2007; Bener and Crundall, 2005;
Ansari et al., 2000), traffic accidents are considered the
second leading cause of death in Jordan. Thus, Jordan
faces a serious accident problem.
Study of fatality distribution indicated that children
and youth under the age of 25 years account for 41% of
those killed in traffic accidents in Jordan. Though about
5% of the population is over 60 years of age, they
accounted for nearly 12% of all traffic fatalities. Further
investigation of all traffic accident casualties revealed
that children and young people are exposed to a high
level of risk. For example, children and young people
represented more than 43% of those killed or seriously
injured in accidents, while the corresponding worldwide
percentage is only 30% (Toroyan and Peden, 2007).
In addition to the magnitude and severity of the
accident problem in Jordan, traffic accidents are very
costly for a country having limited resources. Al-Masaeid
et al. (1999) indicated that the costs of fatal, injury and
property damage only accidents are JD 63851, 4155 and
1400, respectively. Based on these estimates, traffic
Traffic Accidents… Hashem R. Al-Masaeid
- 334 -
accidents costed the country JD 220, 258 and 281
millions in 2005, 2006 and 2007, respectively (JD 1=US$
1.42).
Table (2): Total Traffic Accidents, Pedestrian Accidents and their Casualties in Jordan (2005–2007).
Pedestrian
Casualties
All Accident
Casualties
Year
No. of Traffic
Accidents
No. of Pedestrian
Accidents fatal injury fatal injury
2005 83129 4866 305 4844 790 17579
2006 98055 4826 319 4837 899 18019
2007 110630 4178 276 4193 992 17969
Table (3): Causes of Traffic Accidents ( 2005 – 2007 ).
Cause Percentage
Carelessness 22.5
Close following or tailgating 17.0
Disregarding traffic priority 14.6
Using incorrect lane 14.1
Bad turn 10.5
Incorrect reversing 9.2
Disregard traffic signs 2.8
Excessive speed 1.5
Disallowing pedestrian priority 1.2
Wrong overtaking 0.8
Wrong turn 0.7
Others 5.1
Pedestrian Involvement Rates
Table (2) shows total road accidents, pedestrian
accidents and their casualties in Jordan during the period
2005-2007. Despite the fact that pedestrian accidents
constitute about 5% of the total traffic accidents, they
resulted in about 34% and 26%of the total traffic fatalities
and injuries, respectively. The corresponding percentages
for pedestrian fatalities in Europe and USA were 20%
and 11%, respectively (Jacobs et al., 2000; NHTSA,
2007). This result is not unexpected because pedestrians
are not given sufficient consideration in transport and
urban planning. For example, Al-Masaeied et al. (1994)
pointed out that many rural towns were developed along
and on both sides of Jordanian major roads without any
advanced planning. Furthermore, many schools were
located adjacent to main roads. This situation creates
hazards to local and through traffic as well as to residents.
Figure (2) shows the relative involvement rate for
pedestrians killed or seriously injured during the years
2005-2007. The relative involvement rate was computed
as a percentage of the number of pedestrians killed or
seriously injured for a given age group to the population
Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Volume 3, No. 4, 2009
- 335 -
of that age group in thousands. This figure indicates that
child age group (5-10 years) and elderly age group over
60 years have the highest level of pedestrian risks.
Although children and elderly accounted for nearly 37%
and 5% of Jordan’s population, children and elderly
fatalities represented about 45% and 15% of all
pedestrian fatalities. Thus, these age groups should be the
target for accident prevention measures. Conversely, the
(25-45) age group has the lowest level of risk.
1
3
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
19
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Year
fatality risk/100.000
Jordan
USA
Sweden
Finland
UK
Figure (1): Fatality Risk for Different Countries.
Drivers’ Involvement Rates
Figure (3) shows drivers’ involvement rates for the
period 2005-2007. Drivers’ involvement rates were
computed as a percentage of the involved drivers for a
given age group to the population of divers in the same
age group. The figure illustrates that drivers aged less
than 30 years were over- involved in traffic accidents.
Also, young aged drivers with ages less than 25 years are
the most dangerous drivers. They are over-involved in
traffic accidents by a factor of 1.6 to 2.5 when compared
with the overall average. These results are compatible
with the findings of previous studies, which reported that
young and inexperienced drivers contribute to a high
level of risk (Peden et al., 2004). In contrast, drivers aged
40 to 60 years were found to have the lowest involvement
rate. Compared to 40-60 age category, Figure (3)
Traffic Accidents… Hashem R. Al-Masaeid
- 336 -
indicates that the level of involvement increased for drivers aged more than 60 years.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0_5 5_10 10_15 15_25 25_45 45_60 ≥60
Age group (year)
Pedestrian invovement rate
Figure (2): Pedestrian Involvement Rate for Different Age Groups.
Field observations and accident records reveal that
most of traffic accidents in Jordan are caused by drivers’
errors and their aggressiveness. The major causes of
traffic accidents in Jordan during 2005-2007 are detailed
in Table (3). The largest single cause of an accident was
carelessness of drivers, contributing to 22.5% of all
accidents. Close following or tailgating took the second
rank, accounting for 17% of the accidents. Other causes
were disregarding traffic priority, using incorrect lane,
bad turn and reversing. Excessive speed took the eighth
rank, causing about 1.5% of the accidents. Aggressive
behavior, including tailgating, disregarding traffic priority
or pedestrians, disregarding traffic signs and excessive
speed, contributed to about 40% of accident causes.
According to accident pattern, accidents are classified
into vehicle-vehicle collision, vehicle-pedestrian accident
and run-off-road accident. Although the run-off-road
accidents constituted about 2% of the total traffic
accidents in Jordan, they resulted in more than 20% of the
fatalities. In fact, most of these accidents could be
attributed to speeding, especially on rural roads.
Vehicles’ Involvement Rates
Involvement rates of different vehicle types in traffic
accidents for the period 2005-2007 are shown in Figure
(4). In all years investigated, the highest involvement
rates were found for buses or coaches and mini-buses. In
general, more than 50% of the registered buses and mini-
buses were involved in accidents. In fact, most of buses
and mini-buses are used as public transport or for tourism
purposes. As such, they normally experience traveling
longer distances with excessive speeds. On the other
hand, approximately 25% of registered cars, trucks and
dual purpose vehicles were involved in accidents.
Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Volume 3, No. 4, 2009
- 337 -
Involvement of motorcycles was found to decrease with
time. Finally, construction and agricultural vehicles do
not appear to be a major problem in Jordan, where only
4% and 2%, respectively, of these vehicle types are
involved in accidents.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
19 25 31 37 43 49 55 ≥60
A
ge (year)
Involement arte
Figure (3): Drivers’ Involvement Rate versus Driver Age.
Although involvement rates for buses and mini-buses
are very high, they resulted in only 11% of the total
traffic fatalities. In contrast, traffic accidents involving
cars resulted in about 60% of all traffic fatalities.
DEVELOPMENT OF ACCIDENT AND
FATALITY MODELS
Using the data in Table (1), two types of descriptive
models were developed. In the first type, a model was
developed to describe the relationship between the
number of accidents and motorization level in vehicles
per one-thousand of population. Motorization level was
found to vary from 82 vehicles per one-thousand of
population in 1997 to 147 vehicles per one-thousand of
population in 2007. Based on regression analysis carried
out in this study, the following equation was developed:
ACC = 37.68 M1.60 (1)
where:
ACC = number of traffic accidents per year.
M = motorization level, number of registered vehicles
per one-thousand of population.
Traffic Accidents… Hashem R. Al-Masaeid
- 338 -
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
2005 2006 2007
Year
involvement rate
bus
car
construction
vehicle
dual
purpouse
vehichal
minbus
motorcycle
trucks
Figure (4): Involvement Rate for Different Vehicle Types.
The above model equation and its parameters were
found to be significant at 95% confidence level (N=10,
R2=0.96, F=148.9). The coefficient of determination (R2)
was 0.96, which means that the model explained 96% of
the variations in traffic accidents.
The second type of models was developed to estimate
fatalities as a function of motorization level. The
following equations were obtained:
F = 31.34 M0.69 (2)
F/V = 22.5 M-0.60 (3)
where:
F = traffic accident fatalities per year.
V = number of registered vehicles in thousands.
Equation (2) was found highly significant, with a
coefficient of determination of 0.87 (N = 10, R2 = 0.87,
σ =0.055, F=51.34). Similarly, equation (3) and its
parameters were found to be highly significant, with a
coefficient of determination of 0.88 (N = 10, R2 = 0.88,
σ =0.045, F=58.55). Compared with the model equation
(2), model equation (3) has a lower standard error and
higher coefficient of determination and F-value.
Furthermore, equation (3) is consistent in form with the
well-known Smeed’s formula (Smeed and Jeffcoate,
1970). Therefore, equation (3) was recommended and
adopted for subsequent applications.
Evaluation of 2008 Traffic Safety Policies
As stated before, two safety policies were
implemented since the start of February 2008. The first
one was the application of the temporary law ( No. 52,
2007), which imposed stiffer penalties on drivers’
Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Volume 3, No. 4, 2009
- 339 -
violations, particularly speeding. Due to drivers’
complaints, this law was relaxed by the end of May, 2008
and substituted by a less restrictive permanent law (No.
49, 2008). The second safety policy was the
intensification of traffic police enforcement; which
continued up to the present time. The number of fines
increased to 2.14 millions in 2008, compared with 1.36
millions in 2007. The most important was the increase in
number of fines for excessive speeding, which increased
from 144 thousands in 2007 to nearly 180 thousands in
2008. The positive combined effect of these policy
measures was a decline in the number of accidents and
fatalities.
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Jan.
Fab.
Mar.
Apr.
May.
Jun.
Jul.
Aug.
Sep.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Month
% of accidents
2008
2003-2007
Figure (5): Comparison of Accident Percentages of 2008 and (2003-2007) Period.
In the evaluation, it was assumed that the developed
equations in this study are applicable in the absence of
any effective safety measures. In 2008, there were
905592 registered vehicles and a population of 5850
thousands. Using equation (1) with motorization level of
154.8, the expected number of accidents for 2008 is
117500; while the actual observed number of accidents
was 101066. At 95% confidence level, a significant
decline of about 14% in the total number of accidents
could be concluded. Furthermore, traffic accidents of
2008 resulted in 740 fatalities compared with an
estimated 995 fatalities, computed using equation (3).
Similarly, a 25.63% reduction in the number of fatalities
in 2008 was found to be significant at 95% confidence
Traffic Accidents… Hashem R. Al-Masaeid
- 340 -
level. Thus, the applied policies were found to be
effective in reducing the total number of accidents and
the resulting fatalities.
Despite the fact that the combined effect of the new
traffic law and increasing enforcement level had an
overall positive influence in reducing accidents and
fatalities, the application of law with stiffer penalties was
the most effective measure. Figure (5) shows the
percentage of accidents by month for 2008 and the
average of percentages during the period 2003-2007. For
February, March, April and May, the percentage of
accidents in each month of 2008 was found to be
significantly lower than the corresponding average for
the same month in the 2003-2007 period. It is worth
mentioning that the temporary law with stiffer penalties
was only applied during these months. Thus, the
implementation of an intensive enforcement accompanied
with higher penalty levels may create greater positive
impact on traffic safety.
In addition to the reduction in number of accidents
and fatalities, the applied measures had economical
benefits. According to the estimated and actual observed
accidents in 2008, the saving in accidents was about
16434 accidents. Therefore, the anticipated economic
saving is approximately JD 42 millions (US$ 60
millions).
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
This paper presents the extent of traffic accident
problem in Jordan. The problem is serious and alarming.
It is considered as the second leading cause of death in
Jordan. Children and youth under the age of 25 years and
elderly of ages over 60 years were found to be
overrepresented in accident fatalities. Child age group (5-
10) years and elderly age group (over 60) years were
exposed to the highest level of pedestrian accident risk. In
fact, children’s behavior in this age group is less
disciplined and their physical and cognitive skills are not
fully developed. Also, young and elderly drivers were
significantly over-involved in traffic accidents. In
addition to the lack of driving experience, young drivers
often underestimate the level of risk. Aggressive driving
behavior was the major cause of accidents. Previous
studies concluded that self-assertion and territorial
attitude among Jordanians lead to aggressive driving
behaviors (Suliman and Awad, 2003). Similar to other
Middle East countries, carelessness was the first single
cause of accidents (Bener and Crundall, 2005). Compared
with developed and a number of developing countries,
Jordan has experienced excessive human and economic
losses as well as social and emotional impacts as a result
of this problem.
Safety policy measures undertaken in 2008, including
intensification of police enforcement and improvement of
traffic laws, were found to be effective in reducing total
traffic accidents and fatalities by 14% and 25.63%,
respectively. This result is compatible with findings of
previous studies, which revealed that changing of
attitudes or traffic law towards safety is an effective mean
to improve drivers’ behavior (Pelsmacker and Janssens,
2007). Such changes can be achieved through education
and enforcement of laws. In France, a dramatic increase
in law enforcement over the 2001-2004 period reduced
traffic fatalities by about 32% (Constant et al. 2008).
Similarly, intensification of speed enforcement in Finland
reduced the number of fatal accidents by 13% (Rijkka
and Mikko, 2008). For a given enforcement level,
however, the results of this study suggested that a traffic
law with stiffer penalty level would be more effective on
traffic safety.
Realizing traffic accidents as preventable and
multidiscipline problem, safety measures implemented in
Jordan are not enough to tackle this problem. The Higher
Council for Traffic Safety should be an independent body
and empowered by technical committees constituted at
lower operational levels. Such committees are responsible
of planning, conducting studies, problem identification,
policy formulation and follow-up with the Council and
implementation bodies. In fact, many developed countries
have adopted safety policies and achieved successful
stories like Sweden, Japan, United Kingdom, among
others. For example, Sweden adopted ‘vision zero’ in
1997, Netherlands adopted ‘sustainable road safety’ in
Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Volume 3, No. 4, 2009
- 341 -
1991 and England adopted ‘tomorrow’s roads safety for
everyone’ in 2000. According to the Britain strategy, a
reduction of 50% in the number of children killed or
seriously injured should be achieved by 2010, compared
with the average for 1994-1998. However, a reduction of
55% in the number of children killed or seriously injured
was achieved by the end of 2007 (National Statistics,
2008, 2009).
In Jordan, the political will and commitment to reduce
the problem of traffic accidents exist. The Higher Council
for Traffic Safety should be restructured as an
independent entity empowered by specialized staff.
Safety measures dealing with road users, roadway and its
environment and vehicles should be developed. Children
often underestimate the level of risk in crossing or
playing in streets. Thus, education and mass media
programs are necessary for this age group. Also, well
structured training programs are vital for drivers.
Although black-spot and low-cost safety improvements
are cost-effective, road and urban safety audits, in
planning and design stages, are much more preferable for
accident prevention. It is worth mentioning that vehicle-
vehicle collisions constituted more than 93% of traffic
accidents in Jordan. Thus, widening of roadways and
implementation of medians to separate traffic are
recommended, especially for roads subjected to high
traffic volumes. Vehicle investigation programs shall be
established to ensure that vehicles are in good mechanical
conditions and equipped with safety devices. Finally,
enforcement of traffic laws and improvement of rescue
medical services are considered as an essential part of
safety policies (Al-Masaeid and Zubai, 2005).
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the results of this study, the following points
were concluded:
1. Jordan faces a serious and alarming traffic accident
problem. Compared with developed and a number of
developing countries, Jordan has experienced
excessive human and economic losses as well as
social end emotional impacts as a result of this
problem.
2. Child age group (5-10) years and elderly age group
(over 60) years are exposed to the highest level of
pedestrian accident risk.
3. Young drivers of ages less than 25 years and elderly
of over 60 years are overrepresented in traffic
accident involvement.
4. While the first single cause of accidents in Jordan is
carelessness, aggressive driving behavior is believed
to be the major contributory factor in traffic
accidents.
5. Public transport means, including buses and mini-
buses, are over-involved in traffic accidents.
6. Forecasting exponential models, using motorization
level as an independent variable, successfully
explains the variations in traffic accidents and
fatalities.
7. Intensification of traffic enforcement accompanied
by implementation of traffic law with stiff penalty
levels would have a great positive influence on
traffic safety.
8. Although political will and commitment to reduce
the problem of traffic accidents exist, Jordan shall
implement a comprehensive strategy with a clear
vision and rational policies to curb this problem.
REFERENCES
Abdulhmajid, A.A. 2007. Road Traffic Accidents – the
Number One Killer in Libya. Libyan Journal of
Medicine, AOP: 070327, 64-65.
Al-Masaeid, H.R. 1997. Impact of Pavement Condition on
Rural Road Accidents, Canadian Journal of Civil
Engineering, National Research Council of Canada,
NRC, Canada, 24 (4): 523-531.
Al-Masaeid, H.R. 1998. Characteristics and Costs of Road
Traffic Accidents… Hashem R. Al-Masaeid
- 342 -
Accidents in Jordan, Proceedings of the International
Conference on Safety on Roads, Bahrain University
(Bahrain), Oct. 26-28: 306-310.
Al-Masaeid, H.R., Al-Mashakbeh, A.A. and Qudah,
A.M.1999. Economic Costs of Traffic Accidents in
Jordan, Journal of Accident Analysis and Prevention, 31
(4): 347-357.
Al-Masaeid, H.R., Al-Suleiman, T.I., Hamed, M. and
Halawa, K.R.1994. Impacts of Small Rural Towns on
Road Safety and Traffic Operation, Journal of Road and
Transport Research, ARRB, Australia, 3 (1): 86-98.
Al-Masaeid, H.R. and Al-Zubai, E.K. 2005. Emergency
Medical Service Rescue Times for Road Accident
Casualties in Jordan, Proceedings of the 13th Road
Safety on Four Continents Conference, RS4C, Warsaw,
Poland, 5-7 Oct.
Al-Masaeid, H.R. and Nelson, D.C. 1996. Pedestrian
Accidents and Their Rrelationship to Street Geometry
and Operation Variable in Jordan, Journal of the Indian
Highways, Indian Roads Congress, India, 24 (9): 49-57.
Al-Masaeid, H.R. and Suleiman, G.M. 2004. Relationships
between Urban Planning Variables and Traffic Crashes
in Damascus, Road and Transport Journal, ARRB,
Australia, 13 (4): 63-73.
Al-Masaeid, H.R., Obaidat, M.T. and Gharaebeh, F. 1997.
Pedestrian Accidents along Urban Arterial Midblocks,
Journal of Traffic Medicine, IAATM, 25 (3-4): 65-70.
Al-Suleiman, T.I. and Al-Masaeid, H.R. 1992. Descriptive
Model for Fatality Rates of Traffic Accidents in Jordan,
ITE Journal, Institute of Transportation Engineers,
Washington DC. 62 (4): 37-39.
Ansari, S., Akhdar, F., Madoorah, M. and Mutaery, K. 2000.
Causes and Effects of Road Traffic Accidents in Saudi
Arabia. Public Health Journal, 114: 37-39.
Bener, A. and Crundall, D. 2005. Road Traffic Accidents in
the United Arab Emirates Compared to Western
Countries. Advances in Transportation Studies, an
International Journal, Section A, 6: 5-12.
Brindle, R.E. 2001. Planning and Road Safety:
Opportunities and Barriers. Proceedings of the 24th
Australian Transport Research Forum, Hobart,
Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources,
Hobart, Tas., 23.
Constant, A., Salmi, L.R., Lafont, S., Chiron, M. and
Emmanuel, L. 2008. The Recent Dramatic Decline in
Road Mortality in France: How Drivers’ Attitudes
Towards Road Traffic Safety Changed between 2001
and 2004 in GAZEL Cohort. Health Education
Research, 23 (5): 848-858.
Elvik, R. and Vaa, T. 2004. Handbook of Road Safety
Measures, Oxford, United Kingdom, Elsevier, 1090pp.
Harkey et al. 2008. Crash Reduction Factors for Traffic
Engineering and ITS Improvements, NCHRP Report No.
617, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC.,
USA, 82 pp.
Jacobs, G.D. and Aeron-Thomas, A. 1999. A Review of
Global Road Accident Fatalities, In TRL, Annual
Research Review, Transport Research Laboratory,
Crowthorne.
Jacobs, G., Aeron-Thomas, A. and Astrop, A. 2000.
Estimating Global Road Fatalities. Transport Research
Laboratory, TRL, Report 445, Crowthorne.
Jordan Traffic Institute. 1997-2008. Traffic Accidents in
Jordan (1997-2008), Ministry of Interior, Public
Security Directorate, Amman, Jordan.
Jorgensen, H. Stig. 2002. The Geography of Traffic Accident
Risk-Some Policy Consequences. GeoHealth 2002,
Victoria, University of Wellington, Dec. 3-5.
Katamine, N.M. 1999. Persistent and Continual Worsening
of the Traffic-Accident Situation in Jordan. Institute of
Transportation Engineers Journal, ITE, 69 (3): 28-34.
McLean, J. and Kloeden, C. 2002. Alcohol, Traveling Speed
and the Risk of Crash Involvement. Proceedings of the
16th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and
Traffic Safety, Montereal, 4-9 Aug. 2002.
Mittal, N. 2008. Policies and Programs for Road Safety in
Developing India. Journal of Emergencies, Trauma and
Shock, 1 (1): 42-49.
National Statistics, Department for Transport. 2008.
Fatalities in Road Accidents. Road Accident Statistics
Factsheet, No. 2-2008, UK.
National Statistics, Department for Transport. 2009. Child
Casualties in Road Accidents. Road Accident Statistics
Factsheet, No. 5-2009, UK.
Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Volume 3, No. 4, 2009
- 343 -
NHTSA. 2007. Traffic Safety Facts, Overview, National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, United States,
Department of Transport, Washington, DC., 12 pp.
Peden, M. et al., Eds. 2004. World Report on Road Traffic
Injury Prevention. Geneva, World Health Organization,
217 pp.
Pelsmacker, P. and Janssens, W. 2007. The Effects of
Norms, Attitudes and Habits on Speeding Behavior:
Scale Development and Model Building and Estimation.
Accident Analysis and Prevention, 39: 6-15.
Rijkka, R. and Mikko, M. 2008. Effect of Intensified
Automatic Speed Control and Decreased Tolerance on
Traffic Safety, Nordic Road and Transport Research
Journal, (1): 41.
Toroyan, T. and Peden, M., Eds. 2007. Youth and Road
Safety. Geneva, World Health Organization, 40 pp.
Smeed, R.J. and Jeffcoate, G.O. 1970. Effects of Changes in
Motorization in Various Countries on the Number of
Road Fatalities. Traffic Engineering and Control, 12:
150-151.
Suliman, M.R. and Awad, W.H. 2003. Aggressive Driving is
a Major Cause of Traffic Accidents and Road Rage in
Jordan. Proceedings of the Second International
Symposium on Human Factors in Driver Assessment,
Training and Vehicle Design, Park City, Utah, 22-24
July, 182-187.