Factors contributing to road traffic accidents in the Gaza Strip a comprehensive analysis

Abstract Road traffic crashes (RTCs) are considered one of the major public health issues in many countries worldwide. Investigating factors of traffic crashes, accidents, and disasters can facilitate and aid in identifying measures to mitigate their frequency and severity as well as occurrence and impact, thereby enhancing road safety. This study aims to investigate the factors that contribute to road traffic accidents in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. A comprehensive questionnaire, comprising four sub-groups of factors: human, vehicle, road, and environmental, collected data from a sample of respondents, including drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and other road users. The study utilized the relative importance index (RII) to analyze and classify each factor group after analyzing 385 questionnaires in SPSS. Over 83% of respondents across all age categories identified overspending as the most significant factor causing road traffic crashes, according to the study’s findings. Additionally, more than 78% of respondents believed that weak braking or brake failure was the highest and most significant vehicle-related factor contributing to road traffic crashes. Among the road factors, 75.4% of respondents identified low or no street illumination as a significant contributor to road traffic crashes, ranking it as the fourth most influential element overall, while environmental factors had the least impact compared to other variables.