A bibliometric analysis of driving behaviour of commercial transport drivers: an African perspective

Abstract

Road traffic accident is highly correlated with the behaviour of who is behind the wheel. Reports have shown that Africa as a region leads in the rate of road traffic fatality globally. Despite the growing road safety challenges associated with commercial transport drivers in Africa, and the various interventions by stakeholders to minimise road traffic accidents, little attention is given to the prevalence of the adverse driving behaviour of commercial transport drivers. Consequently, this study, therefore, established a bibliometric analysis to obtain an in-depth understanding of the driving behaviour of commercial transport drivers in Africa. For this study, 219 articles between 1978 and May 21, 2023, extracted from the Scopus database and key bibliometric indicators were established which includes; publication trends, keywords on driving behaviour among commercial drivers, authors, institutions, citation and co-citation analysis, subject categories, and co-occurrence of terms. Furthermore, information collected in this study was analysed using Microsoft Excel and VOSviewer software. The study showcased the views of researchers in terms of Accident risk factors, accident prevention analysis and accident proneness. However, the result revealed insufficient publications in both quantity and quality on commercial vehicle drivers' behaviour despite the significant contribution of commercial drivers to accidents in Africa. This research established a new direction by linking drivers' behaviour, and traffic safety with the commercial transport industry and understanding the factors and influence of drivers' behaviour.