Sociological Analysis of Road Safety Situation In Cambodia

Abstract

The global objective of the study is to explore the conceptual understanding of road crashes as a social issue among general road users and to understand better the behavioral determinants of motorcycle helmet wearing among youth. Both researches show some interesting similarities about how the interviewed think about wearing a helmet. Both questionnaires reveal that there is good understanding of why you should wear a helmet and the respondents have a positive attitude towards helmet wearing. Moreover, the Helmet Questionnaire showed that most of the questioned people believe that they are able to wear a helmet. Although people express the intention to wear a helmet, in practice there are still a lot of people not wearing a helmet. From the helmet research we can learn that there are a few important factors playing a role. Although people agree on the fact they should wear a helmet they also state that there are specific situation in which they find it more difficult to wear a helmet: in situations that are preceived as 'safe' (driving slow or over a short distance) and when it is not convenient (when dressed up). Another important issue is the fact that the opinion of the family is stated to be important for the intention to wear a helmet but that the actual behavior of friends often plays a stronger role in the final decision to wear a helmet. It is likely that although family is very important people mirror their behavior on that of friends and more in general on people on the street. Seeing more people wearing a helmet encourages wearing a helmet themselves. While the general awareness about the need of wearing a helmet is very high, wearing a helmet is not a habit yet, but part of a 'decision-making-process'. This could explain the difference between the intention of people and the actual helmet wearing rate. One of the conclusions is that the target population was very much aware of the fact that wearing a helmet protects them from head injuries (i.e. knwoledge about the benefits of helmet wearing is good). The actual wearing of a helmet, though, was linked to the perceived risk and not all situations are considered risky by the road user. Therefore, further effort needs to focus on changing the perception on which situations constitute a risk, namely that all situations without a helmet are risky. The aim will be to make helmet wearing a habit at all times through raising public awareness, targeting youth and strengthening helmet law enforcement.