Health status, Attitudes and Safety behaviors in driving among urban public vehicle drivers

Abstract

The use of public transportation in urban areas has been steadily increasing due to urban expansion and increased travel demand. Road accidents remain a significant problem, impacting the safety of passengers and other road users, particularly in urban areas, where accidents are more common than in other areas. This is primarily due to driver risk behavior. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls for all countries and all partners to adopt a safe systems approach in their operations to achieve the goal of reducing road traffic fatalities by at least 50% by 2030. Therefore, the study aimed to study the health, attitudes, and safety driving behaviors of urban public transportation drivers, and the relationship between their health, attitudes, and safety driving behaviors and accidents. The study aimed to identify key factors directly influencing accidents among public transportation drivers and serve as a guideline for planning appropriate awareness raising among public transportation drivers. A literature review and additional data were collected from all drivers who underwent a driving competency test with a public transportation license at the Institute for Urban Disease Prevention and Control. The samples consisted of 834 public vehicle drivers who held valid licenses and participated in a driving performance assessment. Participants were selected using purposive sampling between October 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and Chi-Square to determine the relationships between variables. The results showed that 85.0% of participants were male, and 28.1% were aged between 51-60 years. Most had completed upper secondary education (33.0%) and had more than fifteen years of driving experience (40.6%). Regarding health behaviors, 73.3% had no chronic diseases, 54.0% had never smoked, and 62.8% reported alcohol consumption. Additionally, 54.4% consumed energy drinks, 78.1% drank coffee, and 44.2% had been involved in traffic accidents. The overall attitude toward safe public vehicle driving was at a very good level (= 4.48±0.27) and an overall safe driving behavior was at a good level (= 3.68±0.46). The analysis revealed statistically significant differences in the occurrence of accidents between groups classified by gender, underlying disease, duration of driving experience, smoking, and sleep duration (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Effective prevention of traffic accidents among public vehicle drivers should focus on regulating driving hours, health monitoring- especially among drivers with chronic conditions-promotion of adequate rest, and smoking reduction. In addition, gender-specific interventions should be considered, and further research is recommended to explore other influencing factors.