Spatial Correspondence between Traffic Accident Risk and Automated Traffic Enforcement Equipment Allocation
This study examines the spatial correspondence between traffic accident risk and automated traffic enforcement equipment allocation at the legal-dong level in Seoul, South Korea. Using 467 legal-dong areas, accident risk was measured by adjusting the accident risk index (ARI) for the cumulative de facto population and by applying empirical Bayes smoothing. The equipment allocation was measured using a log-transformed resource allocation rate that accounts for the number of intersections. Standardized risk and resource indicators were used to classify spatial correspondence types, and exploratory candidate areas were identified using global Moran’s I, univariate LISA, bivariate LISA, FDR correction, and stability analyses. The results show that 105 legal-dong areas, accounting for 22.5% of the study area, were classified as high-risk low-resource areas. The global Moran’s I measure indicated a significant positive spatial autocorrelation for both accident risk and enforcement resource allocation, whereas the bivariate Moran’s I was not statistically significant. Under the nominal criterion of p < 0.05, 23 univariate high-high accident-risk clusters and 30 bivariate high-low patterns were identified. However, after FDR correction, no univariate high-high clusters remained significant, although two bivariate high-low patterns remained. Because the combined candidate definition requires a univariate high-high condition, no areas satisfied the combined FDR-adjusted candidate criteria. Under the nominal criterion, 18 baseline, four reinforced, and four strict exploratory candidate areas were identified, and 16 of the 18 nominal baseline candidates reappeared in at least three of the six analytical scenarios. Accordingly, nominal candidate results should be interpreted as exploratory screening results rather than as statistically confirmed priority areas under the combined criteria. The proposed framework can provide supporting information for subsequent field investigations and policy reviews. However, the results should not be interpreted as direct evidence for immediate equipment installation.