Citation

Abayomi O, Babalola OR, Olakulehin OA, Ighoroje M. Traffic Injury Prev. 2016; 17(4): 330-335.

Affiliation

a Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital , Ogbomoso , Oyo State , Nigeria.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15389588.2015.1077238

PMID

26252819

Abstract

Background Drink driving contributes significantly to road traffic injuries. Little is known about the relationship between drink driving and other high risk behaviours in non-western countries. The study aimed to assess the relationship between drink driving and other risky behaviors including making phone calls, sending text messages, non-use of protective gears and driving against traffic.

METHODS A cross-sectional survey of risky behaviour among undergraduates was conducted. A stratified random sampling method was used to identify young undergraduates that had driven a motorized vehicle in the past year. Alcohol use disorder identification test (AUDIT) and other tools developed by researchers were used to identify the risky behaviours.

RESULTS Out of 431 respondents, 10.7% had engaged in drink driving in past 12 months. The most common risky behavior was making phone calls (63.7%) followed by non-use of helmets (54.7%), driving against traffic (49.2%), non-use of seatbelts (46.8%), and sending text messages (26.1%). Alcohol use was significantly associated with making phone calls (U = 1.148; p < 0.0001), sending text messages (U = 1.598; p = 0.021), non-use of helmet (U = 1.147; p < 0.0001), driving against traffic (U = 1.234; p < 0.0001) and non-use of seatbelts (U = 3.233; p = 0.001). Drink driving was associated with all risky behaviors except non-use of seatbelts (U = 1.842; p = 0.065).

CONCLUSION Alcohol use and drink driving were associated with multiple risky driving behaviors. This provides useful insight for policy development and presents additional challenges for traffic injury prevention.

Language: en