Integrating user psychology in road transport safety: a model for low and middle-income countries, based on Sri Lanka

Abstract

Every person qualifies as a road user including you and me. This makes it a paramount interest to make our roads safe. It is unfortunate to accept that Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), which include Sri Lanka, account for 90% of road collisions that occur globally. These collisions account for 17.63 million serious injuries and deaths while costing LMIC economies 1.7 trillion USD amounting to 6.5% of aggregate annual GDP [1] which is significant enough to rethink the focus we have given towards improving road safety. One important piece of this multi-faceted problem is understanding the factors that contribute to road safety incidents. Though there are many models on road transport safety, only a few addresses the impact of user psychology and the contextual environment in LMICs on road safety. This article highlights the outcomes of a study that was conducted to develop a theoretical model integrating user psychology into road safety in LMICs using Sri Lanka as a case study.