GIS based identification of hazardous locations in the Western Cape

Abstract

South Africa is known for its high level of road fatalities (Vanderschuren et al., 2017). In order to curb the problem, various solutions have been proposed, with mitigation efforts achieving varying level of successes between provinces. In the Western Cape, despite substantial improvement to combat the road safety burden, more needs to be done to continue this downward trend. As part of the recent “Western Cape Road Safety Implementation Plan” development, fatality data for the years 2011 to 2015 was taken to a local level. Absolute fatalities, as well as the fatalities per 100 000 population, were compared. Location specific data was also available, providing an opportunity to use a Geographic Information System (GIS) to assist in the analysis. This paper starts with a comparison of road safety trends in various South African provinces, followed by a location specific analysis that identified the top ten hazardous locations for the six districts in the Western Cape viz Cape Town Metropole, West Coast, Cape Winelands, Overberg, Central Karoo and Eden districts. Based on a desk top review of the local circumstances and an identification of feasible road safety measures, the research team provides the necessary guidance for further implementation to the local authorities