Knowledge of Road Traffic Signs and Accident Prevention Practices Among Commercial Bus Drivers in Obio-Akpor Lga of Rivers State
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Abstract
Commercial bus drivers constitute a significant portion of road users and play important role in the development of modern societies socially and economically. Like every other profession, they are exposed to occupational accidents with the attendant morbidity and mortality. This study investigated the knowledge of road signs and accident prevention practices among commercial bus drivers in Obio-Akpor local government area of Rivers State. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. Six research questions and four hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The population of the study comprised of all commercial bus drivers in Obio-Akpor LGA, Rivers State. A self-structured questionnaire titled, “Knowledge of Road Signs and Accident Prevention Practices among Commercial bus Drivers” with a correlation coefficient of 0.81 was used to elicit information from two hundred respondents who participated in the study. Data was analysed using SPSS version 26. The research questions were answered with descriptive statistics, while the hypotheses were tested using ANOVA at 0.05 alpha level. Findings from the study revealed that majority (83.0%) of the commercial bus drivers in the study area had good knowledge of road traffic signs and 85% engaged in above fair level of accident prevention practices while driving. Age (F= 4.696; p= 0.003), educational attainment (F= 5.040; p= 0.002), years of driving experience (F= 8.769; p= 0.000) and knowledge of road traffic signs (F= 3.375; p= 0.001) had significant influence on accident prevention practices among commercial bus drivers in Obio-Akpor LGA, Rivers State. Based on the finings of the study, it was recommended that the Federal and State ministries of Transport and the Federal Road Safety Corps should emphasize more training on the recognition of the mandatory road signs. In addition, Non-Governmental Organisations should also be involved in organising seminars and workshops on road safety and accident prevention practices for drivers.
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