A synthesis of studies of access point density as a risk factor for road accidents

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A synthesis of studies of access point density as a risk factor for road accidents

Elvik, Rune

Highlights•Access point density is a risk factor for road accidents.•A meta-analysis of studies of access point density is presented.•Methodological problems in meta-analysis are discussed.

AbstractStudies of the relationship between access point density (number of access points, or driveways, per kilometre of road) and accident frequency or rate (number of accidents per unit of exposure) have consistently found that accident rate increases when access point density increases. This paper presents a formal synthesis of the findings of these studies. It was found that the addition of one access point per kilometre of road is associated with an increase of 4% in the expected number of accidents, controlling for traffic volume. Although studies consistently indicate an increase in accident rate as access point density increases, the size of the increase varies substantially between studies. In addition to reviewing studies of access point density as a risk factor, the paper discusses some issues related to formally synthesising regression coefficients by applying the inverse-variance method of meta-analysis.