DRIVER FAMILIARITY WITH ONBOARD SAFETY DEVICES IN ARTICULATED VEHICLES: EVIDENCE FROM TAFA TRUCK TRAILER TRANSIT PARK, ABUJA–KADUNA EXPRESSWAY

Abstract

This study assessed truck drivers’ awareness and familiarity with onboard safety devices in articulated vehicles on the Abuja–Kaduna Expressway, focusing on the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), and Electronic Stability Control (ESC). A safety device protects drivers only if they know it exists and understand what it does. The study adopted a descriptive design and conducted a complete census of the 700 registered drivers at Tafa Truck Trailer Transit Park; all 700 questionnaires distributed were returned and usable. Familiarity data for each device were analysed using one-sample chi-square goodness-of-fit tests against an even (50/50) split. Familiarity differed significantly from chance for every device (ABS: 78.6% familiar, χ² = 228.57; ESC: 64.3%, χ² = 57.14; LDW: 42.9%, χ² = 14.29; all df = 1, p < .001). Familiarity was descriptively highest for ABS, followed by ESC, then LDW; because the same drivers rated all three devices, this ordering was not itself inferentially tested. The pattern may reflect differences in how long each device has been in use, its visibility, or its interactivity, though these explanations were not tested directly. The study concludes that awareness efforts have focused on older, visible systems, leaving newer technologies such as LDW relatively unknown, and recommends that the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), develop targeted awareness programmes for under-recognised technologies.