Current and Future Trends in Driver Behaviour and Traffic Safety Scholarship: An African Research Agenda

Abstract

Road traffic accidents are strongly associated with driver behaviour. Africa, as a region, has the highest road accident fatality rate, but there is very little research dealing with this critical issue on the continent. This paper, therefore, sought to establish the state of driver behaviour and road safety scholarship in Africa to determine current research trends as well as potential future research directions. To this end, two bibliometric analyses were conducted, one which considered the issue from an African perspective and the other which considered the broader body of work. The analysis revealed a critical shortage of research related to driver behaviour in Africa. The existing body of research primarily focused on the identification of issues and tended to focus on narrow research problems within limited geographical areas. A need was identified for the collection of broader macro-level data and statistical analyses thereof to indicate regional traffic crash patterns; causes and effects; country-level studies, particularly countries with high traffic fatality rates and low levels of research; cross-country comparisons; and modelling. Future research directions should also include the link between driver behaviour, traffic safety and the sustainable developments goals, as well as policy-related research to determine current and potential future country-level policies.