A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master’s in Information and Communication Science and Engineering of the Nelson
Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology
Road traffic accidents account as one of the major causes of injuries and loss of human lives.
Various studies have shown that the implementation of road accident reporting systems can
reduce road accidents injuries and deaths through time minimization in assisting the victims
and also in the mapping of road accident-prone areas. This study reviewed several in-vehicle
and smartphone sensor-based systems for road accident reporting and driver’s behavior
awareness. Questionnaires, interviews, observations, document reviews were used to collect
data from road users and traffic police officers. The study developed a mobile application
system using the evolutionary prototyping method, where users tested the system and their
feedbacks were incorporated iteratively. Findings from the survey revealed that road traffic
accidents are mostly reported through police emergency numbers which are sometimes
unreliable and unavailable giving traffic police officers challenges in knowing the precise
accident location. Since traffic police officers are the recognized first responders in Tanzania,
road accident information delays may increase the time taken to help road accident victims.
The developed mobile application system has the potential to provide an alternative tool for
the reporting of road accidents and over-speeding drivers in addition to the existing methods.
The system would serve as a source of road accidents data from road users. The mobile
applicat ion also collects users’ smartphone sensors logs for the future development of
automatic road accident reporting systems. The developed mobile application system was
validated and accepted by the users who agreed on its usefulness in improving road safety.