Predominant Causes of Road Traffic Accident among Commercial Vehicle Drivers in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the predominant causes of road traffic accidents among commercial vehicle drivers in Ekiti state. Three hypotheses were tested based on the variables of drivers distraction, dangerous overtaking and over speeding in relation to road traffic accidents. Structured questionnaires were administered to 525 commercial vehicle drivers at motor parks in study area. Inferential statistics of linear regression was used to analyze data collected. The level of significance was set at 0.05 alpha level. The results revealed that drivers distraction F-ratio was 3.014, p<0.05; dangerous overtaking F-ratio was 1.854. P<0.05; and over speeding F-ratio was 2.349, P<0.05. Drivers distraction was the most significant cause of road traffic accidents among commercial vehicle drivers in Ekiti State. Based on these findings, it was recommended among others that the drivers tendency of using cell phones while driving should be stopped and face misdemeanor fines ranging from 50,000 to 100,000.