Advancing safe mobility: A global analysis of research trends in safe route planning

Safe route planning has become an increasingly important area of research in recent years due to growing concerns about pedestrian and traffic safety, rising traffic volumes and densities in urban areas, and advancements in smart vehicle and transportation technologies. This study conducted a bibliometric analysis of publications on safe route planning retrieved from the Web of Science database between January 2000 and January 2023 to understand the state of the field. A total of 1546 publications authored by 5423 researchers from 84 countries were analyzed. The findings identified the United States, China, India, South Korea, and Spain as the most productive countries, while the University of North Carolina emerged as the most productive organization. Engineering, computer science, transportation, public health, and automation were revealed to be the dominant initial research areas, although interest grew from other domains like urban planning and the environment over time. Analysis of publications by year showed a steady rise in output starting from 2008. Notable influential publications and highly cited authors in the field were also identified. Several research themes and terms like path planning, safety, walking, and route to school were highlighted through keyword analysis. This study provided novel insights into the evolving international landscape, topics, and influential contributors in safe route planning research over the past two decades. Limitations in database coverage and analytical techniques necessitate future work to enhance understanding in this critical domain.