Journal of Transportation Research

Journal of Transportation Research

Investigating the Economic Factors Affecting Road Accidents in West and Northwestern Provinces of Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
khaled Ahmadzadeh 1
Nahid Amiri 2
Ahmad Mohammadi 3
Hamid Naseri 4
1 Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.
2 M.A. Graduate, Department of Economics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.
4 M.A. Graduate, Faculty of Economics, Management and Social Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
Abstract
Road accidents and the resulting casualties are one of the main challenges of Iran in recent years, which has imposed great costs on the economy. In this regard, the western and northwestern provinces of the country, due to their special position, face many road casualties and damages. The purpose of this study is to investigate and identify some economic factors affecting road accidents in the form of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), using panel data method in ten west and northwestern provinces of Iran. The results indicate that there is an inverse U-shaped relationship between per capita income and deaths due to road accidents in the studied provinces. In addition, the results show that improvements in medical equipment and increased investment in road infrastructure have a significant impact on reducing casualties due to road accidents in the provinces under study. Investing in medical equipment and infrastructure is effective in reducing road casualties. There is also a positive and significant relationship between fuel consumption and population with the rate of road casualties. In addition, road casualties decrease with increasing urbanization rates and increasing traffic culture. Codified planning, taking into account the impact of these factors, can have a significant effect on reducing losses and costs.
Keywords
Road accidents
Economic factors
Environmental Kuznets Curve
Provinces of Iran
Subjects
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Journal of Transportation Research
Volume 23, Issue 3
Summer 2026
Pages 325-342