KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES TOWARD ROAD SAFETY AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES-COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

Road traffic injury is a growing public health concern that has already caught the attention of governments and health professionals worldwide. The objectives of this study were to determine the knowledge and attitude toward road traffic regulations of medical students of the University of the Philippines-College of Medicine (UPCM) and their association with road safety practices. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 2016 among UPCM medical students. Questionnaire was developed based on national laws on traffic and adopted from related literature. Data were analyzed using T-test and chi-square at 95% confidence interval utilizing software STATA V12. Among the 156 drivers who were included in the study, 89(57.05%) were men, mean age= 22.31 + 1.94, and 85 (54.49%) were involved in road traffic crash. Low overall safe driving knowledge, attitude and practices were reported while knowledge and attitude did not correlate with practice (p> 0.005). Being older was the only demographic characteristic which had significant association (p= 0.0028) with safe knowledge toward road safety while attitude on speeding (p < 0.001) and use of seat belt (p =0.007) showed significant correlations to acceptable practices on the road. Strict and consistent enforcement of traffic rules are therefore recommended.