Perception and Practice of Road Safety among Medical Students, Mansoura, Egypt

OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge and attitude of medical students towards road safety and to determine their driving behavior and its relation to different related factors. METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved 480 medical students at Mansoura University, Egypt. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect student personal data, knowledge about road safety, attitude towards road safety, and driving practices. RESULTS: More than 40% of students experienced an injury in the previous year, mainly as a pedestrian (56%), and 15.2% practiced driving, although only 9.6% had a driving licence. Most of the students had correct road safety knowledge except for awareness that the safe time to read maps is when your vehicle is parked (44%), one should drive in the left lane (29.6%), and one should overtake from the right-hand lane only (25.8%). The majority of the students reported that road traffic injuries can be prevented (89.2%). The mean score of the driving practices of the students ranged from 0.66±1.04 to 2.44±6.28 and rural residents showed significantly higher score regarding errors and lapses. CONCLUSION: Good road safety knowledge and a favorable, low risk attitude, did not translate into improved road traffic behavior and this highlights the importance of stricter implementation of the existing rules and including road safety in medical education programs.