INTRAS (Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety), University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
Faculty of Psychology. University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
PLoS One. 2023 Apr 7;18(4):e0282601. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282601. eCollection 2023.
Despite the considerable effort made during the last decades, emerging countries are still among the highest road safety concerns because they still account for most of the deaths caused by traffic crashes. Various studies suggest that one of the factors involved in this negative outcome could be road safety. However, this issue remains pending to be addressed in most emerging countries, including the Dominican Republic.
This study aimed to assess the beliefs and perceptions of Dominicans regarding some key road risky-related issues and to discuss them in the light of objective data.
For this cross-sectional study, the responses by a full sample of 1,260 Dominicans (50.1% men, 49.9% women) with a mean age of 39.4 years participating in a set of surveys conducted across the country, were used.
Although Dominicans (especially women) seem to attribute high importance to road crashes, there is a low perceived likelihood of getting involved in a traffic crash. As for subjective versus objective data comparisons, perceived crash features and objective crash report data considerably match. However, the numbers largely differ in terms of crash frequency and importance and relevance given to road crashes, and their consequences. Further, perceptions of traffic violations and lack of law enforcement were pertinent predictors of the degree of relevance attributed to traffic crashes.
Overall, the results of this study suggest that, despite a relative awareness of their actual traffic crash features, Dominicans systematically underestimate the causes, frequency, and consequences of these crashes, including yearly fatality rates. These outcomes suggest the need to strengthen road safety awareness and beliefs in further road safety actions and policymaking in the region.
尽管在过去几十年中做出了相当大的努力，但新兴国家仍然是道路安全问题最严重的国家之一，因为它们仍然占交通事故死亡人数的大多数。各种研究表明，造成这种负面结果的因素之一可能是道路安全。然而，在大多数新兴国家，包括多米尼加共和国，这个问题仍有待解决。
本研究旨在评估多米尼加人对一些关键道路风险相关问题的看法和认知，并根据客观数据对其进行讨论。
这项横断面研究使用了在全国范围内进行的一系列调查中，1260 名多米尼加人（50.1%为男性，49.9%为女性）的全部样本的回答。这些人平均年龄为 39.4 岁。
尽管多米尼加人（尤其是女性）似乎高度重视道路交通事故，但他们认为自己发生交通事故的可能性很低。在主观数据与客观数据的比较中，感知到的事故特征与客观的事故报告数据相当匹配。然而，在事故频率以及对交通事故及其后果的重视程度和相关性方面，数字却有很大的差异。此外，对交通违法行为的看法和执法力度的缺乏是对交通事故相关性的重要预测因素。
总体而言，这项研究的结果表明，尽管多米尼加人对自己实际的交通事故特征有一定的认识，但他们系统地低估了这些事故的原因、频率和后果，包括每年的死亡率。这些结果表明，有必要加强道路安全意识，并在该地区进一步采取道路安全行动和制定政策。
