Towards safer roads: A study on road safety knowledge and practices among public transport users in Namibia

Abstract

Road crashes pose a significant burden on the social and economic growth of developing countries, where over 90 % of the world’s road traffic fatalities and injuries are recorded. The increasing vehicle population has subsequently led to an increasing number of road traffic crashes, which has brought to the fore the importance of investigating road safety awareness, attitudes and perceptions to combat the issue of road safety. A cross-sectional survey was carried out on respondents in six Namibian regions identified to have the most hazardous national rural road sections, to assess their knowledge, attitudes and road safety practices. Public transport (long distance busses) was observed as the most common mode of transport on the national rural roads. The study identified an inadequate level of road safety knowledge and poor road safety practices among the teenager and young adult population (15 to 29 years) using and operating public transport modes. These poor practices predispose the young road user population to higher crash risk. The poor practices were attributed to an inadequate level of road safety knowledge, which was reported by most of the respondents. Despite teenagers and young adults exhibiting poor road safety qualities, the statistical odds ratios found that the level of desirable road safety knowledge and practices increased with age. The study found that the poor road safety status quo is exacerbated by a low regularity of road safety campaigns, traffic rules enforcement and poor road safety practices by public transport operators. The study identified possible shortcomings in existing road safety programmes and recognised areas that need attention to effectively promote proactive road safety reforms. Furthermore, the study established baseline measures for the levels of awareness, attitudes and perceptions on national rural roads. The baseline measures developed in the study can be used as a base comparison tool for future studies, to guide the development of pro-active safety measures as advances and transformations take effect in road safety.