Development and Implementation of a Traffic Safety Behavior Promotion program among Pedestrian in Tabriz. Iran

Abstract

bstract Introduction A significant proportion of deaths and injuries due to traffic accidents occur among pedestrians. In Iran, 22% of traffic accident deaths are related to pedestrians. So far, no comprehensive study has been conducted on the design and implementation of interventions to promote safe pedestrian behaviors. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of development and implementation of a traffic safety behavior promotion program among pedestrian in tabriz. Method This research is a multi-method research that was designed and implemented to achieve the objectives of the study in five stages. The first phase of the study was to explain the participants' views of the determining factors related to traffic safety along with measuring pedestrian traffic behaviors, which was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, for the qualitative section, 73 participants were included in the study by purposive sampling method with maximum diversity and semi-structured interview method was used to collect data. For quantitative section, 508 residents of Region 2 of Tabriz Municipality entered the study using cluster sampling and completed a pedestrian behavior questionnaire. In the second phase, using the opinions of key informants and experts in the field of traffic and using the panel of experts and the nominal group method, obstacles and challenges related to the safety and safe behaviors of pedestrians were prioritized, Then, the proposed strategies and training methods related to them were determined. In the third phase, according to the strategies and training methods obtained, the intervention program was designed in the form of a campaign to promote safe behaviors for pedestrians. In the fourth phase, the campaign designed to promote the safe behaviors of pedestrians in District 2 of Tabriz Municipality was implemented for 3 months. In the fifth phase, 6 months after the intervention, an evaluation of the program designed to promote pedestrian safe behaviors was performed.

Results In the first phase of the study, after summarizing qualitative and quantitative findings, 129 items were identified as obstacles and challenges to safe pedestrian behaviors. In the second phase, 87 items out of 129 items identified as obstacles and challenges to pedestrian safe behaviors were prioritized, and their related strategies and training methods were determined by key informants and traffic experts. The most important strategies and training methods can be educational programs (in the form of lectures, the use of educational materials such as banners, posters, etc.) and the use of organizations to coalition building (such as education, municipality, traffic police and driving And ...) pointed out. After the implementation of the intervention program, data analysis showed that the implementation of these programs in Region 2 of Tabriz have been effective on pedestrian traffic behaviors. The mean scores of pedestrian behavior (before the intervention of 70.88, after the intervention of 75.29) increased significantly. Discussion: The findings of this study can help the authorities to better understand the barriers and challenges of pedestrian safety and adopt appropriate solutions in this regard. The present study showed that educational and coalition building interventions in the form of campaign interventions can be effective in promoting the safety of pedestrian traffic behaviors. The intervention program designed in the present study can be a good guide for traffic safety researchers, traffic policymakers and municipalities when designing and implementing interventions to promote the safe behavior of pedestrians. key Word: Pedestrians, safety promotion, traffic behavior, program design, program implementation