Seat belt and child restraint use in a developing country metropolitan city

Seat belt and child restraint use is noted to be poor in developing countries such as Ghana. An unobstructive observational survey guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour was therefore conducted to assess seat belt and child restraint use in the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana. The observational survey was carried out at the entrances of four nursery schools in medium and high class residential areas in the Metropolis to determine seat belt use by drivers and accompanied child being transported/dropped off in school. The results revealed that a total of 1922 vehicles comprising 826(43.0%) cars, 350(18.2%) SUV, 644(33.5%) taxis and 102(5.3%) mini buses with 3844 vehicle occupants comprising 1922 drivers and child apiece were successively observed. The majority of the drivers (53.1%) did not use the seat belt with 13.2% of the children been restrained. The gender of the driver has a relationship with the seat belt use. The vehicle type has a relationship with the child restraint use and the gender of the driver has a significant relationship with child restraint use. The enforcement of the Road Traffic Act 2004 and Road Traffic Regulation 2180 by the officials of Motor Transport and Traffic Department(MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service in collaboration with National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) can establish social norms that may have a greater potential to enhance seat belt and child restraint use in the Metropolis.