Public Perception of the Attitude of Drivers on Abuja Roads

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of road traffic crashes and the involvement of high casualties are becoming a major public health concern which needs to be tackled urgently. This urgency is of particular importance in developing nations. To address the pressing challenge, there is a need to study the factors necessitating driver behaviour, hence the aim of the current study. The current study has two components: the first is to test the public’s perception of drivers’ attitudes in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, and the second is to assess common driving behaviours that have been identified as causes of crash. The study adopted the cross-sectional design with the study area purposively selected and questionnaires were distributed randomly to eighty (80) participants in the Municipal Area Council of the FCT. Results indicating respondents’ perception of drivers’ attitude showed that 38.8% of drivers are mostly reckless, 27.5% are inpatient, 10% are indecent, 2.5% are aggressive. Participants indicated that these attitudes could come from driver’s aggression (76.3%). This study was able to identify rage as one of the key contributors to attitudinal adjustment in drivers, establishing a relation between driver attitude and road traffic accidents. Impatience, stress, incompetence, desperation, lack of discipline, and irritability were also recognized as important indications of driver overall attitudinal difficulties in the research area. It is recommended that intervention to improve emotional control be designed in order to essentially bring about a shift towards proper driving attitude. It can be stipulated that non-professional as well as professional drivers receive regular emotional management training as part of their license renewal program.