Developing the structural equation model and guideline for reducing traffic accident severity caused by motorcyclists behaviors and personal defectsin an industrial area
Abstract:
This development research was aimed at synthesizing knowledge, developing a structural equation model of traffic accident severity, and finding guideline for reducing traffic accident severity caused by the motorcyclists unsafe behaviors and personal defects in an industrial area. The study subjects included 580 peoples, who had been riding a motorcycle for at least 3 years in the industrial area drawn by simple random sampling. Data were collected by using questionnaires with reliability of more than 0.7, focus group interview, indepth interview, and confirmed the results by experts using Delphi technique. The data were analyzed in terms of frequency, percentage, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), structural equation model, odds ratio, logistic regression, median, and inter quatile range.
The results revealed that based on the systematic review, factors contributed to severity of accident were comprised of not wearing a helmet (OR=10.65, 95% CI: 2.14-52.97) and alcohol drinking (OR=3.23, 95% CI: 1.77-5.89). The structural equation model indicated that a causal relationship was found among the riders negligence, unsafe riding behaviors, and traffic accident severity. The findings were consistent with the empirical data , and the percentage of prediction was 81%.
The result of this study found that risk factors associated with the severity of traffic accidents included not wear a helmet, riding behind another vehicle in a close distance, riding in a wrong lane, cutting off other motorists, alcohol drinking, and ignorance of the traffic laws (ORAdj =6.47, 4.30, 4.16, 4.14, 2.89, and 1.57 respectively). The guildeline for reducing motorcycle accident severity included increasing of helmet wearing, not riding behind another vehicle in close distance, not riding in the wrong lane, cutting off other motorists, not drinking alcohol when riding, and continuously promote the knowledge of the traffic laws. Collaborative efforts among motorcyclists, family/ friends, and society/ agency (transport office, traffic police, rescue volunteers, highway office, community/ local organization, education institute, health units, and responsible policy maker) should be established to reduce severity of traffic accidents.