A study in a hospital setting in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies, on the psychological factors that cause road traffic collisions

Abstract

The following research paper aims to examine the psychological factors that have led to road traffic collisions (RTCs) by conducting research on drivers who had been admitted to the Accident and Emergency department at four major hospitals in Trinidad as RTC cases. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in four major hospitals in Trinidad. Sample size was 900 participants admitted to the hospital as RTC cases, and the sample was selected using Daniel’s formula. All 900 participants were drivers involved in an RTC and were mostly male, and majority of drivers involved in an RTC were within the age group of 30–39 years. The survey was conducted in a 3-month window between March and June 2013. The results of the survey indicated that there was a significant relationship between most of the factors and RTCs, that is, p<0.05. This indicated that the null hypotheses did not hold. Thus, there was an positive correlation. The study revealed that attitude of drivers, real driving practice and the driving knowledge possessed by the driver were associated factors for RTCs. The survey also established that factors such as stress, the lack of sleep and fatigue were also likely to be associated with RTC.

Keywords:

• road traffic collision
• psychological factors
• Trinidad
• accident and emergency
• stress
• depressive symptoms

Supplementary material

Figure S1 Consent form to participate in research.

Acknowledgments

Special acknowledgement to Professor Dave Chadee who recently passed away, he was a mentor and motivator throughout the research. The authors wish to thank Dr. G. Legall, Dr. C. Naraynsingh-Chang and Ms. N. Singh for their assistance during the early part of the study.

Author contributions

CDG and EDH were responsible for data analysis with ASG providing intellectual contributions. EDH and CDG drafted the article. All authors contributed to the conception and design of the paper, interpretation of data, critical revisions contributing to the intellectual content and approval of the final version of the manuscript.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.