Traffic safety culture of drivers in Canada: Implications for new traffic law implementation to enhance traffic safety

Abstract

This study investigates Canada's traffic safety culture (TSC) as part of a global research project. The TSC survey data collected by an online survey is used to predict drivers' perception of changes in traffic problems in the past 3 years, driver's support, opposition towards enforcement of additional traffic laws, and drivers' perceived threat towards risky driving behaviors. A two-step procedure is followed to build models. The first step includes feature selection using the chi-square test of independence. The second step comprises building classification models using the Random Forest technique. Results suggest that drivers' personal attributes like the number of accident records, driving frequency, geographic region of nationality, and religion are top predictor variables for drivers' perception towards changes in traffic problems. In addition, compared to others most drivers perceive distracted driving as a major traffic problem today. There is strong disapproval of drivers against the following driving behaviors and strong support to implement laws against it: speeding in school zones, talking on a hand-held cell phone, tying text messages or e-mails, drowsy driving, driving without wearing their seatbelt, drive with passengers not wearing seatbelts, running through red lights, and impaired driving. In contrast, following risky driving behaviors is less of a perceived threat: speeding over limit on a freeway, on a residential street, and in an urban area and talking on a hands-free cell phone while driving. In addition, a driver's accident record is a significant indicator for a perceived threat towards risky driving behaviors followed by age and accumulated demerit points. The results from this study can be used to guide educational campaigns to transform the traffic safety culture of target groups and make more informed policy decisions.