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

Addis Ababa, with a population of 4 million, is the largest urban centre 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 are modelled using a mixed logit model to account for unobserved heterogeneity potentially resulting from crash underreporting, non-linear effects of operational and geometric features, and omitted driver behaviour factors. Factors associated with increased probability of fatal pedestrian injury include crashes that occur on high speed roads, at intersections, during darkness, and which involve heavy vehicles. Relatively less-educated drivers 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 of the vehicles owner as compared to the vehicle’s owner. The detailed findings of this research are contrasted with findings from developed countries, and their implications are discussed in relation to suggested infrastructure and policy interventions.