Spatio-temporal analysis of accident hotspots on federal highways in the state of Goiás, Brazil

Traffic accidents have awakened a global concern as they are the ninth leading cause of death worldwide. This triggers a challenge for traffic managers and planners interested in ensuring the fluidity of traffic and also road safety. In this context, spatial analyzes are essential to recognize critical points or stretches on the road and thus contribute to decisions aimed for the reduction of traffic accidents. In light of the above, this study aims to carry out spatiotemporal analyzes of hotspots of accidents occurred on federal highways located in the state of Goiás, central region of Brazil, in the period from 2014 to 2019. In order to achieve the goal of this work, the available data (from the website of the Federal Highway Police of Brazil) was geocoded in a Geographic Information System (GIS) program and the descriptive statistical analysis was emplyed. The results showed that, in general, accidents occur at points of intersection. In addition, the stretch from Aparecida de Goiânia to Alexânia, in the surrounding area of Brasilia, capital of Brazil, in all the studied years, presented a higher density of accident occurrences, with a high amount of fatal outcomes. Therefore, this stretch of road has become crucial, even with the best traffic conditions.