A cross-sectional study to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice toward road safety rules and regulations among higher secondary school students in rural field practice area of a medical college

ABSTRACT

Background: India being a developing country faces a double burden of communicable disease and increasing burden of non-communicable disease like road traffic accidents. The year 2000–2011 was declared “Decade of action for road safety” by the UN General Assembly with a goal to reduce and stabilize road traffic accidents. Age groups from 15 to 19 years and second 5 to 14 years are more commonly exposed to road traffic accidents (RTAs), with this background, the study was focused on school-children. Objectives: The objectives of the study were as follows (i) To study the sociodemographic profile of the study population and (ii) to study the knowledge, attitude, and practices of road safety rules and regulations among higher secondary school students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 266 higher secondary school students in Lokikere, field practice area of S. S. Institute of Medical Sciences, Davangere. Data were collected using pre-tested questionnaire for a period of 2 months from October 2019 to November 2019. Results: Among 266 students, 97.7% of students have received knowledge from their teacher and 61.2% of higher secondary school students have adequate knowledge and positive attitude regarding road safety rules and regulations, even after 95.5% of students having adequate knowledge of age to attain driving license still 23.4% of them drive vehicle without obtaining license, of which 48.3% drive vehicle without parent’s knowledge and 29% of them have been exposed to RTA. Conclusion: Majority of the students have good knowledge of road safety. Around 95% of the students have adequate knowledge, 61.2% of students have positive attitude regarding road safety rules. About 23% of the students drove vehicles without license, among whom 48.3% drove vehicles without parents knowledge and 29% of them have been exposed to RTA.