Knowledge Attitude and Practice of Taxi Drivers Towards Seatbelt Use in Yerevan, Armenia

Abstract

Introduction: Globally road traffic crashes account for more than 1.3 million deaths and 50 million injuries and/or disabilities. Not using seatbelts is a major cause of mortalities. Traffic crashes are one of the leading causes of premature death in Armenia. To address this issue, fines for not wearing seatbelts were increased in April 2007; however strict enforcement of seatbelt use only began in August 2009. A significant proportion of the vehicles in Yerevan are taxis. Methods: In the spring 2011, a qualitative research was conducted to explore the knowledge, attitude and practice of taxi drivers in Yerevan. Convenience sampling was used for 17 in depth interviews with taxi drivers, 6 interviews with police officers and 1 focus group consisting of 6 NGO personnel. Road side day-time observations were conducted in 4 locations and 63 in-taxi observations were carried out to observe seatbelt use patterns. Results: Taxi drivers in Yerevan have limited knowledge about the seatbelt law. Road day-time observations displayed high compliance with the law, however, in-taxi observations revealed tampered seatbelts. All three groups acknowledged the importance of the seatbelt law in Armenia but taxi drivers had different opinions concerning the necessity of this law in Yerevan. According to participants’ beliefs, seatbelt use had increased since August 2009 but is currently declining. Safety was reported as the primary advantage of seatbelts while discomfort, strangling, sweating and loss of customers due to dirty seatbelts were disadvantages. Conclusion: Increase in seatbelt use is directly related to strict enforcement and increased fines. Although participants reported high rates of seatbelt use, in-taxi observations revealed significant seatbelt tampering. There is an urgent need to increase awareness on the benefits of seatbelts.