Understanding Traffic Accidents among Young Drivers in Qatar

Faris Tarlochan,Batool Gaben,Mohamed Izham Mohamed Ibrahim

doi:10.3390/ijerph19010514

Faris Tarlochan, Batool Gaben + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010514

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Abstract

Young drivers are generally associated with risky driving behaviors that can lead to crash involvement. Many self-report measurement scales are used to assess such risky behaviors. This study is aimed to understand the risky driving behaviors of young adults in Qatar and how such behaviors are associated with crash involvement. This was achieved through the usage of validated self-report measurement scales adopted for the Arabic context. A nationwide cross-sectional and exploratory study was conducted in Qatar from January to April 2021. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the survey was conducted online. Therefore, respondents were selected conveniently. Hence, the study adopted a non-probability sampling method in which convenience and snowball sampling were used. A total of 253 completed questionnaires were received, of which 57.3% were female, and 42.7% were male. Approximately 55.8% of these young drivers were involved in traffic accidents after obtaining their driving license. On average, most young drivers do have some risky driving behavior accompanied by a low tendency to violate traffic laws, and their driving style is not significantly controlled by their personality on the road. The older young drivers are more involved in traffic accidents than the younger drivers, i.e., around 1.5 times more likely. Moreover, a young male driver is 3.2 times less likely to be involved in traffic accidents than a female driver. In addition, males are only 0.309 times as likely as females to be involved in an accident and have approximately a 70% lower likelihood of having an accident versus females. The analysis is complemented with the association between young drivers’ demographic background and psychosocial-behavioral parameters (linking risky driving behavior, personality, and obligation effects on crash involvement). Some interventions are required to improve driving behavior, such as driving apps that are able to monitor and provide corrective feedback.

Highlights

Road accidents have become one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality, especially in children and young adults aged 5–29 years [1]
An additional relationship was tested between questions “As a driver, have you ever been in car accidents?” and “Have you gotten any traffic violations during the last 12 months?” The findings showed a significant association between the two questions (p = 0.001); 66.7% (n = 80 out of 120) of the respondents who had experienced traffic violations in the past 12 months were in car accidents
It was found that the likelihood of committing traffic violations is associated with driving behavior and attitude to abide by traffic laws

Summary

Introduction

Road accidents have become one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality, especially in children and young adults aged 5–29 years [1]. Health Organization (WHO) [1], approximately 1.3 million die each year due to road accidents, resulting in a loss of around 3% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). There are several contributors that lead to road accidents, one of which is human error. Many studies have been published supporting the claim by the WHO, indicating that risky driving behaviors are one of the leading causes of road accidents [3,4,5,6,7,8,9]

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