Citation

Okafor IP, Odeyemi KA, Dolapo DC. Ann. Afr. Med. 2013; 12(1): 34-39.

Affiliation

Department of Community Health and Primary Care, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Annals of African Medicine Society, Publisher Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital)

DOI

10.4103/1596-3519.108248

PMID

23480993

Abstract

Background/Objective: Road traffic injuries have persisted as a serious public health problem and much of the health burden is in developing countries. Over-speeding, poor enforcement of traffic regulations and commuter buses have been highly implicated in road traffic injuries in developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine drivers' knowledge of selected road safety measures, i.e. the pre-requisites for driver's license, road signs and speed limits. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out in Lagos, Nigeria. Simple random sampling was used to select the two motor parks used for the study and all the consenting commercial minibus drivers operating within the parks (407) were included in the study. Data was collected with a pre-tested, structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed with epi-info statistical software. Results: Two hundred and sixty-one (64.1%) of them knew that Visual Acuity test should be done before obtaining driver's license and 53.8% knew the correct minimum age for obtaining driver's license. Only 1% of the drivers had correct knowledge of the driver's license authorities in Nigeria. The drivers had poor knowledge of road signs (59.0%) and poor knowledge of maximum speed limits (100%). The oldest, least educated and least experienced drivers had the poorest level of knowledge. Conclusion: The drivers demonstrated poor knowledge of road safety measures. There is need for driver education to improve their knowledge.

Language: en