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Influence of Road Safety Education on Seat-Belt Use among Commercial Vehicle Drivers in Nigeria

Abstract

Road traffic injuries remain an important public health and occupational safety concern in Nigeria, with commercial vehicle drivers playing a significant role in road transportation. Commercial drivers may face increased exposure to road traffic hazards because of prolonged driving hours, frequent passenger transport, traffic congestion, road conditions, vehicle maintenance issues, and other occupational pressures. Seat-belt use is an important road safety practice that can reduce the severity of injuries and the risk of death among vehicle occupants during road traffic crashes. Road safety education provides commercial vehicle drivers with information about traffic regulations, road traffic hazards, the protective benefits of seat belts, correct seat-belt use, consequences of non-compliance, defensive driving, speed management, and other safe driving behaviours. Seat-belt use refers to the correct and consistent use of an appropriate seat belt by commercial vehicle drivers while operating or travelling in a motor vehicle. In Nigeria, inconsistent seat-belt use among drivers may be influenced by inadequate knowledge, misconceptions about the protective value of seat belts, discomfort, short-trip perceptions, enforcement practices, peer and occupational influences, and established driving habits. Effective road safety education may improve drivers' knowledge, risk perception, attitudes, and compliance with recommended seat-belt practices. Against this background, this study investigates the influence of road safety education on seat-belt use among commercial vehicle drivers in Nigeria. The study is anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework. The Health Belief Model explains preventive safety behaviour through perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action, providing a basis for understanding drivers' decisions to use seat belts. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes the interaction between knowledge, self-efficacy, social influences, behavioural capabilities, and environmental conditions in shaping road safety behaviour. The Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework provides a basis for examining how improved knowledge and attitudes resulting from road safety education may influence seat-belt use. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how road safety education may influence seat-belt use among commercial vehicle drivers in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. Primary data will be collected from commercial vehicle drivers operating in selected urban, intercity, and highway transportation routes in Nigeria using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and an observational seat-belt-use checklist. A multistage sampling technique will be employed to select states, transport terminals, motor parks, commercial routes, transport associations, and eligible commercial vehicle drivers. Where feasible, selected driver groups or transport terminals will be assigned to intervention and comparison groups. Drivers in the intervention group will receive structured road safety education covering road traffic hazards, relevant traffic regulations, the protective benefits of seat belts, correct seat-belt use, consequences of non-use, defensive driving, speed management, fatigue management, and other relevant road safety practices. Seat-belt use will be assessed using indicators such as consistent use while driving, correct positioning and fastening of the seat belt, use during short and long journeys, and observed compliance where feasible. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize drivers' sociodemographic and occupational characteristics, road safety knowledge, exposure to education, and seat-belt-use practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired-sample tests, independent-sample tests, and logistic or multiple regression analysis, will be used to determine the influence of road safety education on seat-belt use. Where appropriate, observational seat-belt compliance rates will be compared before and after the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability of the research instrument, model assumptions, goodness of fit, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that road safety education has a significant positive influence on seat-belt use among commercial vehicle drivers in Nigeria. Drivers exposed to structured road safety education are expected to demonstrate improved knowledge of road traffic risks and greater compliance with recommended seat-belt practices. Education may increase awareness of the protective benefits of seat belts, improve drivers' perception of crash-related risks, correct misconceptions regarding seat-belt use, and encourage consistent use during both short and long journeys. However, education alone may not guarantee sustained compliance because drivers may continue to face barriers such as discomfort, established habits, passenger-related practices, perceived inconvenience, weak enforcement, and occupational pressures. Consequently, road safety education is expected to be most effective when supported by consistent enforcement of traffic regulations, regular driver training, appropriate monitoring, transport-company safety policies, and public awareness campaigns. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on road safety, traffic injury prevention, occupational health, driver behaviour, health education, transportation safety, and public health in Nigeria by providing empirical evidence on the influence of road safety education on seat-belt use among commercial vehicle drivers. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Road Safety Corps, Federal Ministry of Transportation, state transport authorities, commercial transport associations, transport companies, driver training institutions, road safety professionals, public health practitioners, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving seat-belt compliance and reducing road traffic injuries. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening road safety education, integrating seat-belt compliance into commercial driver training, improving enforcement of seat-belt regulations, promoting continuous driver safety education, strengthening transport-company safety policies, and reducing preventable road traffic injuries among commercial vehicle drivers and passengers across Nigeria.

Keywords: Road safety education, seat-belt use, commercial vehicle drivers, road traffic safety, road traffic injuries, driver behaviour, traffic safety, occupational safety, health education, injury prevention, transportation safety, public health, Nigeria.