아프리카ㆍ중동

Road traffic accidents and their related deaths have become a major health problem and concerns. Studies have examined the impact of weather on road traffic accidents and casualties. However, the effect of weather on road traffic accidents in the existing literature is scanty in Nigeria. In the light of the growing interest in understanding the interrelationship between climate change and transportation including road traffic accidents, this study examines the impact of rainfall and temperature on road traffic accidents in Ondo State, Nigeria between 2005 to 2012. Secondary data on monthly road traffic accidents, rainfall and temperature were derived for the study duration from the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET). A total of 337 road traffic accidents occurred between 2005 and 2012, 30.83% were fatal, 52.56% were serious and 16.60% were minor accidents. The main finding is that the total road traffic accident is a function of several other factors than rainfall and temperature. Specifically, correlations between road traffic accidents and elements of weather were generally low and never exceeding 0.41. Both rainfall and temperature were negatively and positively correlated on yearly bases. Similarly, multiple linear regression models between road traffic accidents and the weather elements on yearly bases show that the variations in road traffic accidents accounted for by rainfall and temperature are equally low never exceeding 25.7%. In order to determine whether or not the weather effects on road traffic accidents are significant, continued research using additional weather and no weather variables is needed to replicate this study in the country.