Exploring the Relationships between Demographics, Road Safety Attitudes, and Self-Reported Pedestrian Behaviours in Bangladesh

Abstract

Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users in low- and middle-income countries, hence understanding their attitudes towards traffic safety and the pedestrian behaviours associated with those attitudes is vital. The current study identifies the factor structure of a self-report questionnaire on pedestrian behaviours and road safety attitudes and explores the relationships between them. It also assesses demographic effects. A total of 532 people were surveyed. The questionnaire sections related to attitudes and behaviours were developed for use in different, largely high-income settings, hence their suitability for use in the low-income setting of Bangladesh was first assessed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). A structural equation model was then developed to examine the relationships between attitudes and pedestrian behaviours. It was found that positive attitudes towards traffic safety were associated with safer pedestrian behaviours, and that males, younger respondents, and less educated respondents reported performing riskier behaviours and holding more dangerous attitudes to road safety. Results are discussed in terms of the factors likely to influence such behaviours, as well as a discussion on the need for validation of the research tools which have been developed in high-income settings for low-income settings.