ATTITUDINAL BEHAVIOUR OF DRIVERS AND ITS IMPACT ON ACCIDENTCAUSATION: A CASE STUDY OF AKURE/OWO HIGHWAY

Abstract

This research highlights the attitudinal behaviours that contribute to road traffic accidents along Akure-Owo expressway in Ondo state. The research made use of mainly primary data which was collected with the aid of questionnaires. 400 questionnaires were issued out to the respondents. A total of 378 were retrieved and valid. These questionnaires were administered to road users and drivers using the Taro Yamane formula of sample size calculation. Sampling was done using systematic sampling technique. Secondary data was collected from road safety records of accident data from 2008 to 2017. The results were presented in tables and charts. The research showed that 80% of respondents believed that accidents are caused by Human factors, 10% believed that they were caused mainly by environmental factors while the remaining 10% believed that Road pavement and Mechanical factors were the major causes of road accidents along Akure-Owo expressway. According to the road safety records obtained, the month of February had the highest frequency of accidents along that route. 69% of the respondents agreed to the charges currently being paid as penalty on current driving offences while the remaining 31% wants the charges to be reviewed upwards in order to reduce the rate of road traffic accidents along that route. Olufoam junction and Ogbese recorded the highest frequency of accidents throughout the period of study with a record of 259 occurrences each. Both locations are characterized by poor drainage conditions, bad road and small width of pavement. It was therefore recommended that proper road safety measures should be undertaken, traffic signs and signals as well as the visibility and impact should be increased, then more stringent laws and sanctions should be implemented for traffic offenders.