Exploratory study involving observation of traffic behaviour and conflicts in Nigeria using the Traffic Conflict Technique

Road traffic crashes are a major public health problem affecting those living in developing countries, exacerbated by the lack of available resources to tackle the issue (WHO, 2015). Whilst crash reduction measures have been developed and implemented, there has been limited success in developing countries and the crash rate keeps increasing. Partly to blame are the lack of empirical research and high quality crash data. Data do exist – but their reliability is questionable, with respect to the data collection methods used and underreporting. This study, undertaken in Nigeria, used surrogate safety measures based on systematic observation of traffic behaviour and conflicts to assess the behaviour of different road users and investigate the role various factors play in determining conflict severity. Data were analysed using the Traffic Conflict Technique and binary logistic regression. Results show that direction of traffic, time of day and the relevant road user’s age, gender and speed are important determinants of conflict severity. This study highlights the applicability of surrogate safety measures in traffic safety assessment in a developing country and demonstrates that quality data needed for road safety assessment in developing countries could be collected over a short period of time by making use of resources which are readily available.