An In-Depth Analysis of the Causes of Road Accidents in Developing Countries: Case Study of Douala-Dschang Highway in Cameroon

Abstract

This \npaper is aimed at identifying the risk factors that mainly contribute to \nreckless driving and other related causes of road accidents along the Douala-Dschang \nhighway of Cameroon. The research work started with the collection of accident \nreports for 2018 and 2019 from security officials in charge of road safety and \nthe police stations of the different localities included in the sample of the \nstudy. Three hundred and eighty-two (382) road accidents reports were collected and analyzed using the 2020 \nversion logit regression model of XLSTAT. From these analyses, it appears that, of the 382 accidents recorded during \nthis period, six factors were identified and classified as follows: causes of \naccidents related to speed and carelessness, location of the accident, type of \nvehicle at fault, day the accident occurred, time of the accident and the age \nof drivers involved. These results could \ncontribute to reduce the gravity of accidents along the Douala-Dschang highway \nand develop other policies in the program for road safety. In addition, this \nstudy can as much as possible equally contribute to reorienting road \nconstruction trends and development techniques in our environment.