Psychology, 2021, 12, 2070-2082
https://www.scirp.org/journal/psych
ISSN Online: 2152-7199
ISSN Print: 2152-7180
DOI: 10.4236/psych.2021.1212125 Dec. 31, 2021 2070 Psychology
Public Perception of the Attitude of Drivers on
Abuja Roads
Faith A. Obafemi
1
, Sam B. Obafemi
2
1
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria
2
Sam Obafemi Behavioural Change Academy (SOBCA), Abuja, Nigeria
Abstract
The increasing prevalence of road traffic crashes and the involvement of high
casualties are becoming a major public health concern which needs to be
tackled urgently. This urgency is of particular importance in developing na-
tions. To address the pressing challenge, there is a need to study the factors
necessitating driver behaviour, hence the aim of the current study. The cur-
rent study has two components: the first is to test the public’s perception of
drivers’ attitudes in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, and the second is to
assess common driving behaviours that have been identified as causes of
crash. The study adopted the cross-sectional design with the study area pur-
posively selected and questionnaires were distributed randomly to eighty (80)
participants in the Municipal Area Council of the FCT. Results indicating re-
spondents’ perception of drivers’ attitude showed that 38.8% of drivers are
mostly reckless, 27.5% are inpatient, 10% are indecent, 2.5% are aggressive.
Participants indicated that these attitudes could come from driver’s aggres-
sion (76.3%). This study was able to identify rage as one of the key contribu-
tors to attitudinal adjustment in drivers, establishing a relation between
driver attitude and road traffic accidents. Impatience, stress, incompetence,
desperation, lack of discipline, and irritability were also recognized as impor-
tant indications of driver overall attitudinal difficulties in the research area. It
is recommended that intervention to improve emotional control be designed
in order to essentially bring about a shift towards proper driving attitude. It
can be stipulated that non-professional as well as professional drivers receive
regular emotional management training as part of their license renewal pro-
gram.
Keywords
Drive, Attitude, Perception, Road
How to cite this paper: Obafemi, F. A., &
Obafemi, S. B. (2021). Public Perception of
the Attitude of Drivers on Abuja Roads.
Psychology, 12, 2070-2082.
https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2021.1212125
Received: June 12, 2021
Accepted: December 28, 2021
Published: December 31, 2021
Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and
Scientific Research Publishing Inc.
This work is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution International
License (CC BY 4.0).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Open Access