DOI: 10.5937/jaes16-16669
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 terms and conditions.
Volume 16 article 513 pages: 153 - 160
In
recent years the economic and infrastructure development have led to increase
the number of private vehicles on the roads in Oman. The increased motorized
traffic tends to increase the roadside accidents that results in fatalities and
injuries. To ensure safe mobility of the citizens, it is very important to
evaluate the underlying factors that contribute towards the occurrence of accidents
so that proper countermeasures can be developed and implemented. The main
objective of this study was to identify the most significant driver’s
distraction factors through a questionnaire survey and suggest some policy
measures. The designed questionnaire was consisted of personal and driving
attributes, and potential internal and external factors that cause distraction
to the drivers. This questionnaire survey was conducted at some feasible
locations in Muscat and Nizwa city with drivers of different vehicles. The
results of 252 collected samples showed that the use of mobile phone, eating
while driving and presence of passengers in vehicle are the most significant
internal distraction factors. Significant external factors included looking at
the scenic elements, advertisement boards and other drivers. It was predicted
that cell phone, interaction, and disturbance-oriented factors are significant
determinants of driver’s propensity to be involved in an accident. This study
proposed some behavioral intervention techniques that need to be considered for
the improvement of traffic safety in Oman.
1.
Islam, M.M., Al-Hadhrami, A.Y.S. (2012). Increased Motorization and Road Traffic
Accidents in Oman. Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences,
vol. 3, no. 6, 907-914.
2.
World Health Organization (WHO). Global status report on road safety 2015,
Geneva.
3.
Facts and figures, Directorate of traffic and safety, Royal Oman Police (ROP),
2016.
4.
Al-Reesi, H, Al-Maniri, A., Al-Adawi, S., Davey, J., Armstrong, K., Edwards, J.
(2016). Prevalence and characteristics of road traffic injuries among young drivers
in Oman, 2009-2011. Traffic Injury Prevention, vol. 17, no. 5, 480-487.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2015.1107679
5.
Belwal, R., Belwal, S., Al-Quraini, A., (2015). Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs)
and road safety in Oman: an analysis of people’s perception towards the causes.
Advances in Transportation Studies: an International Journal Section B, vol.
37, 105-118.
6.
Regan, M.A., Young, K.L., Johnston, I.J. (2005). Monash University Accident
Research Centre Submission to the Parliamentary Road Safety Committee: Inquiry
into Driver Distraction. Monash University Accident Research Centre, Clayton,
Victoria.
7.
Yannis, G., Roumpas, L., Papadimitriou, E. (2016). Mobile phone use, speed and
accident probability of young drivers. Advances in Transportation Studies: an
International Journal Section B, vol. 39, 51-68.
8.
Yannis, G. (2013). Review of distracted driving factors. Proceedings of 13th
WCTR, July 15-18, 2013– Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
9.
Yannis, G., Papadimitriou, E., Bairamis, C., Sklias V. (2011). Is it risky to
talk, eat or smoke while driving? Findings from a driving simulator
experiment”. Proceedings of the third International Conference on Road Safety
and Simulation, Indianapolis, September
2011.
10.
Foss, R.D., Goodwin, A.H. (2014). Distracted Driver Behaviours and Distracting
Conditions Among Adolescent Drivers: Findings From a Naturalistic Driving
Study. Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 54, no. 5, S50-S60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.01.005
11.
Simons-Morton, B.G., Guo, F., Klauer, S.G., Ehsani, J.P., Pradhan, A.K. (2014).
Keep Your Eyes on the Road: Young Driver Crash Risk Increases According to
Duration of Distraction. Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 54, no. 5, S61-S67.
doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.11.021.
12.
Engelberg, J.K., Hill, L.L., Rybar, J., Styer, T. (2015). Distracted driving
behaviours related to cell phone use among middle-aged adults. Journal of Transport
& Health, vol. 2, no. 3, 434-440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2015.05.002
13.
Al-Azri, M., Al-Reesi, H., Al-Adawi, S., Al-Maniri, A.,Freeman, J. (2017).
Personality of young drivers in Oman: Relationship to risky driving behaviours
and crash involvement among Sultan Qaboos University students. Traffic Injury
Prevention, vol. 18, no. 2, 150-156. doi: 10.1080/15389588.2016.1235269
14.
Javid, M.A., Faraz, N.S. (2017). Understanding the behavior of young drivers in
relation to traffi c safety aspects in Lahore. Pakistan Journal of Science, vol.
69, no.1, 144-149.
15.
Tavakol, M., Dennick, R. (2011). Making Sense of Cronbach’s Alpha.
International Journal of Medical Education, vol. 2, 53-55.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd