Investigating the Availability of Modern Automotive Safety Equipment in Private and Commercial Vehicles in Adamawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Vehicle safety is an important control measure to improve safety on
the roads. Past researches on road safety have shown that vehicle
construction must conform to the requirements of both active and
passive safety to prevent accidents. This study investigated the
availability of modern automotive safety equipment in private and
commercial vehicles in Adamawa State, Nigeria. A survey research
design was used and the population of the study comprised of 316
private and commercial motorists. The sample was made up of 114
private motorists and 63 commercial motorists obtained through
stratified random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire
was used as instrument for data collection. Cronbach Alpha was
also used to determine the reliability coefficient of the instrument.
The calculated reliability coefficient was 0.87. Mean and standard
deviation were used to answer the research questions, while the null
hypotheses were analyzed using z-test at 0.05. The findings of the
study revealed that percentage of motorists with active and passive
safety equipment were found to be thirty-three and thirty-five
percent respectively. This suggests that majority of the private and
commercial vehicles in Adamawa State lack sufficient active and
passive safety equipment. It was therefore recommended that the
Nigerian Road safety agencies should enforce use of automotive
safety equipment.