A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES, ARBA MINCH UNIVERSITY

Abstract

In this era, there is a tremendous economic revolution in developing countries. It leads to an increase in urban population and urbanization, and then increases urban functional land uses. In addition, the growth of the transportation to mobilize goods, and travelers, which produces frequent accidents in many towns and cities. Road traffic accidents occurred, in an urban area, by the cause of vehicle, driver, environment, and other related factors. However, this study, investigated that in addition to those accident factors, the root and the still hidden problem for the road traffic accident in an urban area is the improper usage of urban land for different functions. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify and investigate urban land use types that have a high influence on traffic accidents. A method for this study conducted on two selected cluster areas of about 6.5 km 2 of Debre Markos, where both land use type area and traffic volume were independent variables for dependent road traffic accidents. Overall the analyze the theory that can derive from land use types and then, a direct link between functional land use and main road accidents is estimated. General prediction model for forecasting vehicle accidents related to land use developed using variable responses, with functional primary land use, and traffic volume. Overall, the study found that traffic accidents in Debre Markos were particularly associated with improper urban land use that expressed by limited and accident-prone centralized commercial and related traffic attractor land use types. Lastly, an increasing of traffic accidents, in the study area, possibly overcome by increasing commewhich means that dispersing centralized commercial area to different locations.rcial land use area