An improved approach for association rule mining using a multi-criteria decision support system: a case study in road safety

Purpose Road accidents have come to be considered a major public health problem worldwide. The aim of many studies is therefore to identify the main factors contributing to the severity of crashes. Methods This paper examines a large-scale data mining technique known as association rule mining, which can predict future accidents in advance and allow drivers to avoid the dangers. However, this technique produces a very large number of decision rules, preventing decision makers from making their own selection of the most relevant rules. In this context, the integration of a multi-criteria decision analysis approach would be particularly useful for decision makers affected by the redundancy of the extracted rules. Conclusion An analysis of road accidents in the province of Marrakech (Morocco) between 2004 and 2014 shows that the proposed approach serves this purpose; it may provide meaningful information that could help in developing suitable prevention policies to improve road safety.