George Botzoris

Black spot identification, a spatiotemporal phenomenon, involves analysing the geographical location and time-based occurrence of road accidents. Typically, this analysis examines specific locations on road networks during set time periods to pinpoint areas with a higher concentration of accidents, known as black spots. By evaluating these problem areas, researchers can uncover the underlying causes and reasons for increased collision rates, such as road design, traffic volume, driver behaviour, weather, and infrastructure. However, challenges in identifying black spots include limited data availability, data quality, and assessing contributing factors. Additionally, evolving road design, infrastructure, and vehicle safety technology can affect black spot analysis and determination. This study focused on traffic accidents in Greek road networks to recognize black spots, utilizing data from police and government-issued car crash reports. The study produced a publicly available dataset called Black Spots of North Greece (BSNG) and a highly accurate identification method.

Travel demand modelling for school travel, remains a subject of limited research. The exploitation of factors influencing parents in school mode choice and the understanding of the significance parents attribute to these factors is important, contributing to transport planning and leading to a strategic direction with an ultimate scope to improve the school transportation system and promote the use of alternative transport modes for upgrading the living environment and quality of life in general. The current paper examines the development of a Structural Equation Model (SEM) describing the interrelationships between the factors influencing parents in the decision-making process and the final mode choice. For that, a questionnaire survey is conducted for parents of children aged six to eighteen years old. The collected data are analysed through Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Following, an SEM is developed examining the proposed authors' conceptual model, basic hypotheses of school travel choice, and direct and indirect correlations of factors composing parental behaviour.