Adaptation of the driver behaviour questionnaire and behavioural risk factors for traffic violation arrest and self-reported crash involvement among Nigerian drivers.

CONTEXT: Few studies have been conducted to investigate the driving behaviour of drivers in Africa. AIMS: This study aims to determine the behavioural risk factors for road crashes among Nigerian drivers. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This is a case-control study. Cases were drivers who were booked for traffic violation or who had been involved in road crashes in the past, while the controls were drivers with no such histories. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Both the cases and controls were administered the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ). Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was run to examine the factor structure of the scale. Cronbach's alpha was used for assessing the internal consistency of the DBQ, and logistic regression was used to determine risk factors for crash involvement. RESULTS: Six hundred active drivers consisting of 300 cases and 300 controls were selected. The mean scores of all DBQ items, except one, were significantly higher among booked drivers compared to those who had never been booked. Consistent with many previous studies, factor analysis identified three factors in the DBQ (aggressive violation, ordinary violation and error). However, the factors were constructed differently with most ordinary violation items in the original DBQ loading as aggressive violation in the present study. Eight variables were predictive of being booked for traffic offences while only five variables were predictive of self-reported crash involvement. CONCLUSIONS: The most important variable associated with previous crash involvement was alcohol use. A major policy implication of this is the need for better attention to anti-drunk driving measures.