Uncovering traffic fluctuations and their impact on accidents in Tehran’s major highways

Abstract The rapid expansion and urban development of cities have led to the widespread growth of highways and an increase in private vehicle usage. Consequently, traffic congestion and accidents have become significant concerns in cities like Tehran. To tackle these issues, it is crucial to identify traffic fluctuations(dynamicity points), which are critical for understanding urban transportation challenges. Traffic fluctuations represent sudden changes in traffic flow that signal potential road infrastructure problems, unexpected events, and traffic management inefficiencies. These dynamicity points, characterized by rapid transitions from light to heavy traffic, can reveal structural road design issues, accident-prone zones, and areas requiring targeted interventions. By utilizing location-based data collected from sensors and Google traffic maps, image processing techniques were employed to analyze traffic flow and identify areas with notable traffic fluctuations. A comparative analysis of these traffic fluctuations with existing accident data revealed a significant correlation between sections with high traffic fluctuations and driving accidents. Notably, approximately 70% of the accidents during the study period occurred within the vicinity of the identified dynamicity points. This study introduces a novel approach for calculating the geographical coordinates of high-potential traffic fluctuations, which can provide valuable insights for implementing targeted interventions to alleviate traffic congestion and enhance traffic safety.