Abstract
Phuket is an outstanding province in promoting its economy to domestic and international tourism in Thailand. An investigation of relevant factors for understanding the accident process is one approach to reduce traffic accidents and thereby support tourism industry. This study aimed 1) to examine the characteristics of traffic accidents, physical and surface conditions, and driving behavior in Phuket province; 2) to investigate for an in-depth understanding the factors related to road accidents, including human and vehicle factors, and environmental conditions; and 3) to construct and verify a model concordant with the empirical data. The research instruments were a structural questionnaire to drivers and a checklist assessment of the road surface conditions. A stratified random sampling technique was used for selecting the drivers. The data were statistically analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and second-order confirmatory factor analysis (SCFA). The majority of drivers were males (56.75%), aged between 21 and 40 years (57.00 %), married (62.25%), and working as company employees (73.25%). The study revealed that nearly half (47.15%) of the road traffic accidents in Phuket province involved motorcycles, surpassing other types of vehicles. Traffic accidents were more likely to occur during the daytime (38.11%), followed by night-time at 37.03%. Guided by the EFA and CFA, the three categories of factors, namely human, environmental and vehicle factors, were confirmed as appropriate in fitted models. The results of SCFA revealed that almost all traffic accidents were caused by human factors, followed by environmental, and vehicle factors, in this rank order. The fitted model was concordant with the empirical data (χ2/df = 1.847, GFI = 0.972, AGFI = 0.951, CFI = 0.945, NFI = 0.890, and RMSEA = 0.046). Moreover, substandard road surfaces contributed to traffic accidents as an enabling factor. The responsible agency, therefore, should assist in improving the physical road conditions. Safety consciousness must be set as the default behavior for drivers to avoid accidents. Road accident reduction in Phuket province will increase the confidence among tourists for choosing Thailand as their tourist destination.
Highlights
Phuket is an outstanding province in promoting its economy to domestic and international tourism in Thailand
This study investigated candidate contributing factors as determinants of road traffic accidents, including psychological factors such as attitudes toward environment and driver behaviors, to provide an in-depth understanding of factors related to accidents of people in Phuket province, by using second-order CFA (SCFA)
This study revealed that areas were Bangkok Hospital Phuket (Area I) was good at level B because there were only low miscellaneous distresses found
Summary
Phuket is an outstanding province in promoting its economy to domestic and international tourism in Thailand. This study aimed 1) to examine the characteristics of traffic accidents, physical and surface conditions, and driving behavior in Phuket province; 2) to investigate for an in-depth understanding the factors related to road accidents, including human and vehicle factors, and environmental conditions; and 3) to construct and verify a model concordant with the empirical data. The Domino Theory is based on sequential factors and is the most famous theory for analyzing road accidents (Heinrich, 1959) It involved three contributing components, including the social environment or background and ancestry, human error, and unsafe acts. The attitude towards behavior was used as a framework reference to explain driver’s behavior based on TPB The psychological factors such as drivers’ attitudes and unsafe driving behavior were considered in relation to road traffic accidents. This study was to examine the causes of the accidents from survey data, and to investigate the relationships among factors contributing to accidents along with risky behaviors
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
