ASSESSMENT OF ROAD TRAFFIC CRASHES INVOLVING ARTICULATED VEHICLES ON HIGHWAYS IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

A road traffic crash (RTC) involving articulated vehicle is when such a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, geographical or architectural obstacles. An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivoting joint in its construction, allowing the vehicle to turn more sharply (Ohakwe, 2011) The aim of this study is to assess road traffic crashes involving articulated vehicles on highways in Ondo State, Nigeria, while the specific objectives are to: Appraise the extent of crashes involving articulated vehicles from 2011-2015; Examine the magnitude of persons involved in road traffic crashes involving articulated vehicles; Evaluate the operational characteristics of articulated vehicles that make them prone to accidents; and Assess the impact of human errors in articulated vehicle crashes. The work involves the use of Primary and secondary data, a random sampling, descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Student t-test. 5 routes were strategically selected out of 16 routes across the three senatorial zones. 150 respondents were randomly selected from the five routes across the state, while secondary data on road traffic crash cases involving articulated vehicles were also collected from the database of government organizations from 2011 to 2015. The fundamental findings of this study noted that as the number of people involved in the accident increased, the chance of experiencing fatality was also increased. Operational error trait was very germane in articulated vehicles road traffic crashes. It was also noted that accident occurred mostly on Thursdays during the weeks, month of August and during rainy season in the year. The stakeholders are admonished to play appropriate role to ensure reduction in crashes involving articulated vehicles, synergize to build the infrastructures and to create enabling environment for the business to strive.