Enhancing Road Safety: Insights into Driver Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices in Sahiwal, Punjab

Abstract

The present research study examines the Knowledge Attitude and Practices of Drivers towards Road Safety in Sahiwal, Punjab, Pakistan. The majority of studies, reports, and data showed that more than 80% of road traffic accidents occurred due to human error/ fault. The objective of the study is to know the overall level of knowledge of drivers about road traffic rules, and their attitude and practices towards the mentioned rules and regulations. For this purpose, a quantitative research design was selected, and data was collected from one hundred and eighty (180) drivers both males and females randomly. The data was collected from roadsides, bus stands, offices, etc., through the closed-ended structured questionnaire. The data was analyzed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), where both descriptive and inferential statistical methods were applied. The findings of the study showed that there is a correlation between knowledge, attitudes, and practices of drivers towards traffic rules and regulations. The level of knowledge is not strongly associated with the attitude and practices, but there is a moderate relationship. Drivers in Sahiwal have an informed level of knowledge about traffic rules but are less likely positive attitudes and practices. The major causes of accidents were identified as over-speeding, wrong U-turn, no use of indicators, usage of any types of drugs, underage driving, not wearing helmets, and lack of fastening seat belts.  Moreover, lack of education and awareness among drivers also caused road traffic accidents. To overcome the higher number of road traffic accidents, drivers need to be educated about traffic rules, the government needs to make formal and informed control mechanisms to curtail road accidents.