A Study of Risk Factors Leading to Road Accidents: Chachoengsao Province, Thailand

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to study: 1) personal factors of automobile drivers in Chachoengsao Province, Thailand; 2) their driving behavior; 3) risk factors influencing the chance of having an accident; 4) measures used to avoid or reduce the impact of an accident; and 5) their attitudes towards both controllable and uncontrollable driving risks based upon their personal factors. The sample consisted of 400 drivers; statistics used included both descriptive and inferential statistics. The majority of respondents were female, married, 36-40 years of age, bachelor degree graduates, and worked for private enterprises. They had non-permanent driver licenses in their possession for 3-5 years and had 10-20 years driving experience. Their overall attitudes towards controllable risk factors showed high scores on a given rating scale. Among controllable risk factors influencing the chance of having an accident, in descending order of magnitude, were violation of a traffic light, violation of a speed limit, texting while driving, and no signal given to other drivers. Uncontrollable risk factors influencing the chance of having an accident, in descending order of magnitude, were drunk driving, driving on damaged roads, driving when the rate of traffic is high, and driving on narrow roads.