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Effect of Road Traffic Injury Prevention Education on Road Safety Practices among Commercial Drivers in Nigeria

Abstract

Road traffic injuries remain a significant public health concern in Nigeria and contribute substantially to preventable deaths, disabilities, and economic losses. Commercial drivers are particularly important in road safety because their frequent and prolonged exposure to road traffic conditions may increase their risk of involvement in crashes. Road traffic injury prevention education provides commercial drivers with information and practical knowledge about major causes of road traffic injuries, including speeding, distracted driving, driving under the influence of alcohol or psychoactive substances, fatigue, dangerous overtaking, non-use of seat belts, poor vehicle maintenance, and failure to comply with traffic regulations. Road safety practices refer to behaviours adopted by drivers to reduce the risk of road traffic crashes and injuries, including adherence to speed limits, use of seat belts, avoidance of distracted and impaired driving, compliance with traffic signs and regulations, appropriate vehicle maintenance, and responsible driving behaviour. In Nigeria, poor road conditions, inadequate enforcement of traffic regulations, vehicle defects, driver fatigue, risky driving behaviours, and limited road safety awareness may contribute to the persistent burden of road traffic injuries. Effective road traffic injury prevention education may improve drivers' knowledge and encourage safer driving practices. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of road traffic injury prevention education on road safety practices among commercial drivers in Nigeria. The study is anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Theory of Planned Behavior. The Health Belief Model explains preventive behaviour through perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action, providing a basis for understanding commercial drivers' decisions to adopt safer driving practices. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes the interaction between knowledge, self-efficacy, social influences, behavioural capabilities, and environmental conditions in shaping driving behaviour. The Theory of Planned Behavior explains how drivers' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control influence their intentions and subsequent road safety practices. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how road traffic injury prevention education may influence road safety practices among commercial drivers in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. Primary data will be collected from commercial drivers operating in selected motor parks, transport terminals, and commercial transport routes in Nigeria using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and, where feasible, an observational road safety checklist. A multistage sampling technique will be employed to select states, local government areas, transport terminals, motor parks, and eligible commercial drivers. Where feasible, selected driver groups or transport associations will be assigned to intervention and comparison groups. Drivers in the intervention group will receive structured road traffic injury prevention education covering major causes and consequences of road traffic injuries, speed management, seat-belt use, distracted driving, fatigue management, substance-impaired driving, safe overtaking, compliance with traffic regulations, vehicle maintenance, defensive driving, and appropriate emergency response practices. Road safety practices will be assessed using indicators such as compliance with speed limits, seat-belt use, avoidance of mobile-phone use while driving, avoidance of driving under the influence of alcohol or psychoactive substances, adherence to traffic signs and regulations, fatigue management, vehicle safety checks, and other appropriate defensive driving behaviours. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize drivers' sociodemographic and occupational characteristics, road safety knowledge, exposure to education, and safety practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired-sample tests, independent-sample tests, and multiple regression analysis, will be used to determine the effect of road traffic injury prevention education on road safety practices. Appropriate diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability of the research instrument, model assumptions, goodness of fit, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that road traffic injury prevention education has a significant positive effect on road safety practices among commercial drivers in Nigeria. Drivers exposed to structured road safety education are expected to demonstrate improved knowledge of road traffic injury risk factors and greater adoption of safer driving behaviours. Education may encourage compliance with speed limits, consistent seat-belt use, reduced distracted driving, improved fatigue management, avoidance of impaired driving, better vehicle safety checks, and greater adherence to traffic regulations. However, education alone may not guarantee sustained safe driving practices because drivers may continue to face pressures associated with income targets, long working hours, poor road conditions, traffic congestion, inadequate enforcement, vehicle defects, and limited access to rest facilities. Consequently, road traffic injury prevention education is expected to be most effective when supported by consistent enforcement of traffic regulations, appropriate road infrastructure, vehicle safety inspections, driver licensing and training systems, and supportive transport policies. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on road traffic injury prevention, road safety, health education, occupational health, injury prevention, and public health in Nigeria by providing empirical evidence on the effect of road traffic injury prevention education on road safety practices among commercial drivers. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Federal Ministry of Transportation, state transport authorities, local government authorities, commercial transport unions, road safety organizations, public health professionals, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for reducing road traffic injuries. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening commercial driver road safety education, improving defensive-driving training, increasing compliance with traffic regulations, strengthening vehicle safety inspections, promoting fatigue management, improving enforcement mechanisms, and developing comprehensive road traffic injury prevention programmes for commercial drivers across Nigeria.

Keywords: Road traffic injury prevention education, road safety practices, commercial drivers, road traffic injuries, road safety, defensive driving, traffic regulations, injury prevention, driver safety, health education, occupational health, public health, Nigeria.