Practice of Safety Measures among Inter-City Commercial Vehicle Drivers in Kwara State, Nigeria

Background: The incidence of Road Traffic Crashes (RTC) is rising world-wide, with 1.24 million people killed on the world’s roads in 2010 due to non-compliance with safety measures.The objectives of the study was to determine the practice of safety measures and prevalence of road crashes among inter-city commercial vehicle drivers in Kwara State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study done by interviewer administered questionnaire and blood alcohol concentration of respondents was determined using Breathalyzers. A total of 410 respondents were involved by multi-stage sampling technique and data analysis was done using EPI INFO version 3.5.1 software package. An appropriate test of significance were used and the level of significance was 55 years. More respondents who practiced safety measures carried out driving test before issuance of license compared with those who did not (p = 0.001). Some respondents tested positive for alcohol and the mean blood alcohol concentration was 23.28± 23.32µg/dl. About a third of the respondents had experienced road traffic crashes in the past. Conclusion: The middle age respondents had good safety practices compared with others. Safety practices were influenced by driving test before issuance of license and alcohol intake was a factor in RTC. Orientation of drivers and enforcement of laws are critical in road safety.