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     Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology


Assessment of Traffic Safety and Awareness Among Road Users in Salalah, Sultanate of Oman

1Ahmad M. Abu Abdo and 2Yousuf A. Al-Ibrahim
1Department of Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, American University of Ras Al Khaimah, P.O. Box 10021, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
2Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dhofar University, P.O. Box 2509, Salalah, 211 Sultanate of Oman
Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology  2016  5:574-581
http://dx.doi.org/10.19026/rjaset.12.2685  |  © The Author(s) 2016
Received: September ‎26, ‎2015  |  Accepted: October ‎30, ‎2015  |  Published: March 05, 2016

Abstract

Understanding essential role of the knowledge and awareness of traffic regulations and bad driving practices in reducing traffic accident, this study was carried out to investigate traffic regulations knowledge and awareness among drivers in Salalah, Sultanate of Oman. To achieve the objectives, a questionnaire was developed and distributed among road users in Salalah. The main findings showed that a very low percentage of participants fully complied with speed limits; the majority used mobile phone during driving and drove when feeling fatigued. Interestingly, some of participants lacked the knowledge of traffic signs and a high percentage of participants were knowledgeable of wrong driving practices, which could be the main reasons for the high rate of accidents in the region. Based on the findings of this study, serous efforts should be exerted on promoting traffic safety awareness and compliance with traffic regulations. Furthermore, authorities should escalate the efforts to enforce regulations especially offenses of speeding and the usage of mobile phones while driving.

Keywords:

Salalah, Sultanate of Oman, traffic awareness, traffic safety, traffic survey, traffic accidents,


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Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

Open Access Policy

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Copyright

The authors have no competing interests.

ISSN (Online):  2040-7467
ISSN (Print):   2040-7459
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