Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

LIVE: Thursday 2nd May 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)

Quality sleep is essential for health. But what happens to our brains when sleep patterns are disturbed? Join our experts to explore the interplay between sleep disruption and neurological diseases, and the questions that you need to be asking your patients to help you prevent the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research article

Seat belt and mobile phone use among vehicle drivers in the city of Doha, Qatar: an observational study

Authors: Ziyad R. Mahfoud, Sohaila Cheema, Hekmat Alrouh, Mohammed Hamad Al-Thani, Al Anoud Mohammed Al-Thani, Ravinder Mamtani

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2015

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

In Qatar traffic injuries and fatalities are of serious concern. Mobile phone use whilst driving has been associated with increased risk of vehicular collisions and injuries. Seat belt use has been demonstrated to save lives and reduce the severity of road traffic injuries. Whereas previously published studies may have looked at all front passengers, this study aims to obtain reliable estimates of the prevalence of seat belt and mobile phone use among vehicle drivers in the city of Doha, Qatar. Additionally, we aim to investigate the association of these behaviors with other variables namely gender, time of the day and type of vehicle.

Methods

An observational study on 2,011 vehicles was conducted in 2013. Data were collected at ten sites within Doha city over a two-week period. Two trained observers surveyed each car and recorded observations on a data collection form adapted from a form used in a 2012 Oklahoma observational study. Associations were assessed using the Chi-squared test or Fisher’s exact test. A p-value of .05 or less was considered statistically significant.

Results

Overall, 1,463 (72.7 %) drivers were found using a seat belt (95 % CI: 70.8–74.7 %) and 150 (7.5 %) their mobile phones (95 % CI: 6.3–8.6 %) during the observation period. Mobile phone use was significantly associated with not using a seat belt and driving a sport utility vehicle. Significantly lower rates of seat belt use were observed in the early morning and late afternoon. No gender differences were observed.

Discussion

Seatbelt use in Doha was found to be similar to countries in the region but lower than those in western countries. Also, studies from other high-income locations, reported lower rates of mobile phone use while driving than in Doha.

Conclusions

Despite road traffic crashes being one of the leading causes of death in Qatar, three out of 10 drivers in Doha, Qatar, do not use a seat belt and about one in 12 use a mobile phone while driving. More efforts, in the form of awareness campaigns and increased law enforcement, are needed to improve compliance with laws requiring seat belt use and prohibiting mobile phone use while driving.
Literature
1.
2.
3.
4.
Caird JK, Willness CR, Steel P, Scialfa C. A meta-analysis of the effects of cell phones on driver performance. Accid Anal Prev. 2008;40(4):1282–93.CrossRefPubMed
5.
Özkan T, Puvanachandra P, Lajunen T, Hoe C, Hyder A. The validity of self-reported seatbelt use in a country where levels of use are low. Accid Anal Prev. 2012;47:75–7.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Parada MA, Cohn LD, Gonzalez E, Byrd T, Cortes M. The validity of self-reported seatbelt use: Hispanic and non-Hispanic drivers in El Paso. Accid Anal Prev. 2001;33(1):139–43.CrossRefPubMed
7.
8.
9.
Bener A. The neglected epidemic: road traffic accidents in a developing country, State of Qatar. Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot. 2005;12(1):45–7.CrossRefPubMed
10.
Bener A, Al Humoud SMQ, Price P, Azhar A, Khalid MK, Rysavy M, et al. The effect of seatbelt legislation on hospital admissions with road traffic injuries in an oil-rich, fast-developing country. Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot. 2007;14(2):103–7.CrossRefPubMed
11.
Munk M-D, Carboneau DM, Hardan M, Ali FM. Seatbelt use in Qatar in association with severe injuries and death in the prehospital setting. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2008;23(06):547–52.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Burgut HR, Bener A, Sidahmed H, Albuz R, Sanya R, Khan WA. Risk factors contributing to road traffic crashes in a fast-developing country: the neglected health problem. Ulus Travma Acil Cerrahi Derg. 2010;16(6)):497–502.PubMed
13.
Darabi Golshani AM, Nikraz H, Darabi Golshani Z. Observational survey of seat belt usage in Doha, Qatar. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: Australasian Road Safety Research Policing Education Conference; 2009.
14.
Shaaban K. On road observational survey of seat belt Use among young drivers in Qatar. Proceedings of measuring behavior 2012, 8 th international conference on methods and techniques in behavioral research. The Netherlands: Noldus Information Technology bv; 2012.
15.
James TE, Hall K. Seat belt observation study summer 2010. Oklahoma Highway Safety Office: Oklahoma; 2010.
16.
17.
Martínez-Sánchez JM, Curto A, Fu M, Martínez C, Sureda X, Ballbè M, et al. Safety belt and mobile phone usage in vehicles in Barcelona (Spain). Gac Sanit. 2014;28(4):305–8.CrossRefPubMed
18.
Russo BJ, Kay JJ, Savolainen PT, Gates TJ. Assessing characteristics related to the use of seatbelts and cell phones by drivers: application of a bivariate probit model. J Safety Res. 2014;49:137–42.CrossRefPubMed
19.
Sadeghnejad F, Niknami S, Hydarnia A, Montazeri A. Seat-belt use among drivers and front passengers: an observational study from the Islamic Republic of Iran. East Mediterr Health J. 2014;20(8):491–7.PubMed
20.
Vecino-Ortiz AI, Bishai D, Chandran A, Bhalla K, Bachani AM, Gupta S, et al. Seatbelt wearing rates in middle income countries: a cross-country analysis. Accid Anal Prev. 2014;71:115–9.CrossRefPubMed
21.
Al-Saleh OI, Koushki PA. Assessment of urban traffic infractions in Kuwait. Transportation Research Record. J Transport Res Board. 2007;2038(1):16–22.CrossRef
22.
Barss P, Al-Obthani M, Al-Hammadi A, Al-Shamsi H, El-Sadig M, Grivna M. Prevalence and issues in non-use of safety belts and child restraints in a high-income developing country: lessons for the future. Traffic Inj Prev. 2008;9(3):256–63.CrossRefPubMed
23.
Ma S, Tran N, Klyavin VE, Zambon F, Hatcher KW, Hyder AA. Seat belt and child seat use in Lipetskaya Oblast, Russia: frequencies, attitudes, and perceptions. Traffic Inj Prev. 2012;13 suppl 1:76–81.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Bener A, Crundall D, Özkan T, Lajunen T. Mobile phone use while driving: a major public health problem in an Arabian society, State of Qatar—mobile phone use and the risk of motor vehicle crashes. J Public Health. 2010;18(2):123–9.CrossRef
25.
Gilroy I, Donnelly N, Matthews W, Doherty K, Conlon G, Clarke AT, et al. Smoking in vehicles is lower than mobile telephone use while driving, but is socially patterned. Ir Med J. 2013;106(4):118–20.PubMed
26.
Wundersitz LN. Phone use while driving: results from an observational survey. Traffic Inj Prev. 2014;15(6):537–41.CrossRefPubMed
27.
28.
Bener A, Al Maadid MGA, Özkan T, Al-Bast DAE, Diyab KN, Lajunen T. The impact of four-wheel drive on risky driver behaviours and road traffic accidents. Transp Res Part F Traffic Psychol Behav. 2008;11(5):324–33.CrossRef
29.
Walker L, Williams J, Jamrozik K. Unsafe driving behaviour and four wheel drive vehicles: observational study. BMJ. 2006;333:71. doi:bmj.38848.627731.2F.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
30.
Eluru N, Bhat CR. A joint econometric analysis of seat belt use and crash-related injury severity. Accid Anal Prev. 2007;39(5):1037–49.CrossRefPubMed
31.
32.
Chaudhary NK, Tison J, Casanova T. The effects of Maine’s change to primary seat belt law on seat belt use and public perception and awareness. Traffic Inj Prev. 2010;11(2):165–72.CrossRefPubMed
33.
Bener A, Verjee M, Dafeeah EE, Yousafzai MT, Mari S, Hassib A, et al. A Cross “Ethnical” Comparison of the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) in an Economically Fast Developing Country. Glob J Health Sci. 2013;5(4):165.PubMedPubMedCentral
Metadata
Title
Seat belt and mobile phone use among vehicle drivers in the city of Doha, Qatar: an observational study
Authors
Ziyad R. Mahfoud
Sohaila Cheema
Hekmat Alrouh
Mohammed Hamad Al-Thani
Al Anoud Mohammed Al-Thani
Ravinder Mamtani
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-2283-3

Other articles of this Issue 1/2015

BMC Public Health 1/2015 Go to the issue

Research article

‘What a man can do, a woman can do better’: gendered alcohol consumption and (de)construction of social identity among young Nigerians

Study protocol

Study protocol: evaluation of ‘JenMe’, a commercially-delivered weight management program for adolescents: a randomised controlled trial

Research article

Parental views of children’s physical activity: a qualitative study with parents from multi-ethnic backgrounds living in England

Research article

Evaluation of the impact of a mobile health system on adherence to antenatal and postnatal care and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV programs in Kenya

Research article

Application of objective physical activity measurement in an antenatal physical activity consultation intervention: a randomised controlled trial

Research article

The prevalence and determinants of use of vitamin D supplements among children in Alberta, Canada: a cross-sectional study