Injury severity of pedestrians involved in road traffic crashes in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, with a population of four million, is the largest urban center in Ethiopia. Recently, road traffic crashes, and particularly pedestrian crashes, have become a challenging problem within the city. Walking is the principal mode of transportation in Addis Ababa, accounting for about 60% of daily trips, whereas pedestrian injuries account for about 85% of total injury crashes. Noting this disparity, the objective of this study was to examine the influence of roadway geometric, traffic features, spatial characteristics, and driver/pedestrian demographics on injury severities of pedestrians in Addis Ababa. Police reported pedestrian crashes in Addis Ababa from 2009 to 2012 have been modelled using a random-parameters logistic regression model to account for unobserved heterogeneity potentially resulting from crash under-reporting, operational and geometric features, and human behavioral factors. Factors associated with increasing probability of fatal pedestrian injury include crashes that occur on high-speed roads, at intersections, during darkness, and that involve heavy vehicle-pedestrian collisions. Drivers who are less educated were more likely to be involved in fatal crashes involving pedestrians. Interestingly, pedestrian injuries are more severe when a car is driven by family, friends, or relatives as compared to a vehicle's owner. The detailed findings of this research are contrasted with findings from developed countries, and their implications are discussed in relation to infrastructure and policy interventions