Knowledge and Self-reported Practices of Adolescents towards Road Safety Measures

MANPREET KAUR; Balraj Kaur

doi:10.37591/jonsp.v10i2.1946

Abstract

Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among young people aged 15–19 yearsand second leading cause among 5–14 years old. The decade of 2011-2020 has been declaredas the "Decade of Action for Road Safety” by UN General Assembly, which seeks to halt theincreasing trends in road traffic deaths and injuries worldwide. The starting point for anyinterventions aimed at achieving the UN declaration especially with regard to young peoplewould be to first know their understanding and practices with respect to road safety. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 100 adolescent students inAmritsar. Majority of students were boys and had an average level of knowledge. Two-wheeler was the most commonly used vehicle, 21% of the adolescents were not using helmetswhile riding two-wheeler. 18% of the adolescents had been involved in road-related accidentsin the past 1 year. more than half were driving their vehicles at a speed of more than 80km/hrand 13% were using mobile phones while driving. Study revealed average knowledge of roadsafety measures and unsafe practices while driving.