Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment
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Item Reaction behaviour of drivers to marked and unmarked road : Ghana perspective(The Road Association of Serbia Via-vita, 2021-03-22) Adedeji, Jacob Adedayo; Feikie, Xoliswa; Dzogbewu, Thywill Cephas; Mostafa, MohamedAfrica is the leading continent globally in the rate of road traffic fatalities, yet it is the least motorized compared to the other five continents. This predicament is said to be one of the leading cause of death among youth and generally, rated as one of the ten causes of death in the world. Exclusively, Ghana’s rate of traffic fatalities is growing despite the efforts invested in reducing it. Nevertheless, more focus needs to be invested in the traffic control systems such as traffic signals, signs or road markings. As this system tends to considerably reduce the number of conflicts and minimize road user’s errors. Furthermore, this system creates drivers’ expectations of the conditions which they will meet ahead and the driving tasks required. If misleading information is provided, or none is available, hazardous situations can result. Overall, this traffic system is inadequate or lacking in most developing countries as there are no proper maintenance strategies in place. Thus, this study investigates and evaluates the reaction of drivers to the marked and unmarked roads. Using random quantitative sampling methods, Ghanaian drivers were interviewed on their experiences when driving on the marked and unmarked road. Overall, this study will highlight the necessity of road markings in reducing traffic fatality rate and the psychological effect of the unavailability of road marking on drivers’ expectation and consequently, the effect on their behaviour in most developing countries.Item Exploring the informal communication of driver-to-driver on roads : a case study of Durban city, South Africa(The Road Association of Serbia Via-vita, 2021-12-17) Adedayo Adedeji, Jacob; Feikie, XoliswaRoad traffic fatality is rated as one of the ten causes of death in the world and with various preventive measures on a global level, this prediction is only placed on flat terrain and didn’t reduce. Nevertheless, road users’ communication is an essential key to traffic safety. This communication, be it formal or informal between the road users is an important factor for smooth traffic flow and safety. Communication language on roads can be categorized into; formal device-based signal (formal signal), formal hand signal (formal signal), informal device-based signal (informal signal), and informal gesture-based signal (everyday signal). However, if the intent of the message conveys is not properly understood by the other road user, mistakes and errors may set in. Overall, the formal signal is based on explicit learning which occurs during the driving training and the license testing process and the informal, implicit learning occur during the actual driving process on the road unintentionally. Furthermore, since the informal signal is not a prerequisite to driving or taught in driving schools, novice drivers are clueless and thus, might have contributed to errors and mistakes which leads to traffic fatalities. Therefore, this study seeks to document the informal means of communication between drivers on South African roads. Consequently, a qualitative semi-structured interview questionnaire would be used in the collection of informal signals, which were predominantly used on South African roads from driving instructors and thereafter, a focus group of passengers’ car, commercial and truck drivers will be used to validate the availability and their understanding of these informal signals using a Likert-type scale for the confidence level. In conclusion, the information gathered from this study will help improve road safety and understanding of road users especially drivers on the necessity of communication and possible adaptation for other developing countries.Item An investigation into road safety education in KwaZulu-Natal(2005) Sunker, NeerajRoad fatalities claim more than one million lives annually worldwide. The emotional, social and economic impact of road traffic fatalities demands urgent attention globally. This epidemic of road traffic fatalities is plaguing everyone, especially the poorer nations. Some countries like Australia and Sweden have been more successful than others in combating this epidemic. South Africa is currently seeking strategies to combat this epidemic because South Africa’s road traffic fatalities have been increasing annually, with a substantial percentage of teenagers and young adults between the ages of 16 and 29 contributing to these statistics. This age group will become or already have become part of the economically active population and concern is mounting as to why this particular age group is vulnerable. This thesis provides an overview of the road safety problem globally, nationally, provincially and locally and also looks at the historical factors that have contributed to this problem. The Victorian model, which has been classified as the ‘world’s best practice’, has been reviewed. A pilot survey was conducted at the Mangosuthu Technikon and the focal survey was conducted at the tertiary institutions in the Durban area. Students from this sector were selected as they fall in the most vulnerable age group and data was collected from them on various aspects of road safety. On analysing the data, various problems were identified, in particular, lack of resources and limited education pertaining to road safety. A range of possible solutions is recommended and the focus areas are the 3E’s namely: education, enforcement and engineering. However, the focal recommendation is on education and looks at the possibility of introducing learner’s licence testing to the grade 12 syllabi.