Hazard perception at high- and low-risk road sites: a pilot study of interurban roads in Pakistan and Cameroon

Objectives:Interurban roads account for a significant proportion of traffic deaths in developing countries. In this pilot study, hazard perceptions of interurban road sites involved in \u3e= 3 injury road traffic crashes were compared with those not involved in road traffic crashes on the same road sections. Settings: Karachi-Hala (Pakistan) and Yaounde-Douala (Cameroon) road sections were the main study settings. Data: Videos of 26 high-risk sites and 26 low-risk sites from Karachi-Hala (Pakistan) and Yaounde-Douala (Cameroon) roads, matched for the road section, were shown to 100 voluntary Pakistani drivers. Variations in perceived site hazardousness and preferred speed for each site pair were assessed. Analyses: Factors associated with incorrect hazard perception of high-risk sites (perceived as safe) were assessed by multinomial logistic regression analyses. Results: Drivers reported a higher hazard perception and a lower preferred speed for high-risk sites than for their matched low-risk sites in less than half of pairs (n-12, P Conclusion: The methods used in this study might be useful in prioritising cost-effective improvements at high-risk sites