Self-reported attributes of traffic accident involvement by female teachers working in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

In Saudi Arabia, many newly-graduated female teachers live in the city but have to travel outside the city to get a job. They travel long distances everyday using a variety of vehicles. As they are not permitted to drive, these teachers depend on male drivers to take them to their workplaces. During their trips to work, a large proportion of these teachers are involved in traffic accidents which result in serious injury or death. The aims of the presented paper are to identify the potential factors associated with accidents involving female teachers traveling for work. The results are based on a self-completing questionnaire survey carried out in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia among a representative sample of female teachers. The possible causes studied include the driver and female traveling attributes, vehicle characteristics and environment. The paper includes the results showing the order of significance of the interactions between accident causing factors along with detailed interpretation and discussion of the data. In conclusion, it was noted that there is an urgent need for improvement of safety standards in different provinces of the Kingdom.