Nexus of road geometrics and human factors on traffic accidents on Mzuzu-Jenda M1 road stretch in Malawi

Nexus of road geometrics and human factors on traffic accidents on Mzuzu-Jenda M1 road stretch in Malawi | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Nexus of road geometrics and human factors on traffic accidents on Mzuzu-Jenda M1 road stretch in Malawi Japhet Khendlo This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6089550/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Road traffic accidents remain a significant public safety concern in Malawi, with approximately 20 accidents occurring daily, resulting in an estimated 1,000 fatalities annually. The country's road network is underdeveloped, with only 26% paved and 74% consisting of earth roads. The Mzuzu-Jenda section of the M1 highway serves as a critical transport corridor for imports and exports through Tanzania and neighbouring countries. However, several sections of this road have been identified as accident hotspots, with a history of fatal crashes. This study examines the relationship between road geometric design and human factors contributing to accidents along this stretch. Additionally, it proposes alternative road alignment designs for accident-prone sections. Accident hotspots were identified using ArcGIS software, based on accident reports from the Road Traffic Directorate. Topographic surveys were conducted to extract geometric parameters of these locations using AutoCAD Civil 3D software. Furthermore, driver and passenger interviews were carried out, and vehicle speed was monitored at these high-risk sections. The findings indicate that specific geometric road features contribute to hazardous driving conditions, even when drivers adhere to the recommended speed limit of 50 km/h. Additionally, speed monitoring revealed that drivers frequently exceed this limit, with an average recorded speed of 78 km/h—a 30% increase above the recommended threshold. The combination of excessive speeding and geometric deficiencies significantly increases the likelihood of traffic accidents. The study underscores the need for improved road design interventions to enhance safety on this critical highway corridor. Environmental Engineering Road geometrics Human factors Road traffic accidents AASHTO and SATTC Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6089550","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":419650417,"identity":"de61b2c5-80f6-427b-917a-b2f96bbb2723","order_by":0,"name":"Japhet Khendlo","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA5UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACCQkgwVPAwMDY3gDmE6vFAKil5wCpWhgkEoh0mOTs5mMP3hjYMDDPfJ38mXeHBQN/+wHWzTx4tEjLHEs3nGOQxsA4O3eDMe8ZCQaJMwlst/FpkZPIMZPmMTgM1pLM2wZ05w0Gtts5eLXkf4NomXl2w2GQFnlCWqQlctggWmbwbmwGaTEgpEVyRpqZJNAvPIw9uZsZ57ZJ8BieSWy7/QePFokbyc8k3lTYyBm2n9384W1bnZzc8cPHbs7AowUGeAwboAxgrDYQoQEI5IlTNgpGwSgYBSMRAACeBERXWZe9EQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0970-0237","institution":"Mzuzu University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Japhet","middleName":"","lastName":"Khendlo","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-02-23 10:40:34","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6089550/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6089550/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":77186329,"identity":"b470d5e4-0147-4b2b-b3b8-4811ba411e60","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-02-26 03:53:42","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":692150,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"NexusofroadgeometricsandhumanfactorsontrafficaccidentsonMzuzuJendaM1roadstretchinMalawi.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6089550/v1_covered_5255d294-d86d-404d-a4f5-d9c7fa413641.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNexus of road geometrics and human factors on traffic accidents on Mzuzu-Jenda M1 road stretch in Malawi\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Mzuzu University","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Road geometrics, Human factors, Road traffic accidents, AASHTO and SATTC","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6089550/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6089550/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eRoad traffic accidents remain a significant public safety concern in Malawi, with approximately 20 accidents occurring daily, resulting in an estimated 1,000 fatalities annually. 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