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Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts
Transportation Research Part F xxx (2015) xxx–xxx
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Transportation Research Part F journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/trf
Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts Zümrüt Yıldırım-Yenier a,c, Timo Lajunen b,⇑, Türker Özkan a a
Safety Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway c Population and Community Health Unit, Department of Family Medicine, Western University, London, Canada b
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 27 March 2014 Received in revised form 13 April 2015 Accepted 4 May 2015 Available online xxxx Keywords: Speeding Horn honking Seat belt use Ramadan Time of the day
a b s t r a c t The aim of this study was to examine how Ramadan, i.e., fasting month for believers of Islam, was associated to observable driving behaviours (i.e., speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts) as compared to non-Ramadan. Observations on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts were held during and after Ramadan in different times of the day in the same region of the city of Ankara. Speeds of 1885 vehicles were measured by hand held radar on a two-way eight-lane road with a 50 km/h speed limit. Horn honking was recorded at a signalised intersection with a hidden camera when the light turned into green in terms of 510 traffic light cycles. Seat belt wearing of 2106 drivers was observed at the same intersection. Findings indicated that (a) mean speed was lower, (b) honked horns were higher, and (c) seat belt use was lower in Ramadan as compared to nonRamadan, though each negative driving behaviour was prevalent in both periods. Thus this study showed that the Ramadan period had a limited role on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Ramadan is a religious month in which fasting is observed as a fundamental ritual of Islam. In practice, healthy adult Muslims observing the fast have to keep away from eating, drinking or taking any type of substance (e.g., oral medications, tobacco) from dawn to dusk (Bener, Azhar, & Bessisso, 2007; The Presidency of Religious Affairs, 2009; Welch, 1984). Believers must also obey the religious moral standards (e.g., to be patient; see The Presidency of Religious Affairs, 2009). If fasting may worsen one‘s health or if the person is ill, (s)he is excused from fasting with the advice of doctors and religious authorities. Still, some individuals behave on the contrary (Salti et al., 2004). Ramadan month is based on the lunar calendar and the time of observance starts each year around ten days earlier than the preceding year. Length of fasting in a day varies with the season and geographical site, which makes fasting longer in summer months and in northern latitudes (Bener et al., 2007). In Turkey, about 60% of people fast regularly during Ramadan, while others fast often, sometimes or never during this period (Barem Research, n.d.; Erdem, 2011). It has also been reported that fasting is more prevalent than other religious practices (e.g., performing Ṣala¯t, the ritual prayer) even though its prevalence may differ from season to season (e.g., higher in autumn than in summer). Ramadan fasting has been examined in terms of its effects on individual people. Roky, Houti, Moussamih, Qotbi, and Aadil (2004) reviewed the existing literature on Ramadan fasting and concluded that fasting does not worsen physical health (e.g., ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (T. Lajunen). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.05.001 1369-8478/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article in press as: Yıldırım-Yenier, Z., et al. Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Transportation Research Part F (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.05.001
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the daily average of hormonal serum levels) although fasting can influence the chronobiological and behavioural features and, thus, lead to decreased sleep quality, daytime alertness, psychomotor and physical performance. Roky et al. proposed these latter effects can account for the negative outcomes such as road accidents. Evidence based on hospital data indicated that there is mainly an increase in injuries resulting from traffic accidents during Ramadan (Bener, Absood, Achan, & Sankaran-Kutty, 1992; Roky et al., 2004; cf. with Khammash & Al-Shouha, 2006). For example, Al-Houqani, Eid, and AbuZidan (2013) recently showed that driving during Ramadan was a predictor of sleep related collisions which was prevalent during this particular period. Another study examining traffic accidents in Turkey between 1984 and 2004 found, however, that the number of accidents was not higher in Ramadan compared to other months (Tolon & Chernoff, 2007). It should be noted that these findings are limited to hospital data, i.e. to more severe injuries (Bener et al., 1992). Accident and injury data may be biased in general as they do not include minor accidents and can be confounded with factors not related to accident risk (Elander, West, & French, 1993). An alternative criterion for safety could be critical driving behaviours shown to be predictors of accidents (de Winter & Dodou, 2010). Driving behaviours can provide more information than accident and injury statistics as they are more frequent and can be empirically tested. Unfortunately, the relationship between Ramadan fasting and driving behaviours have remained mainly unexamined in the Muslim world. The present study investigated observable driving behaviours of (a) speeding, (b) horn honking, and (c) using seat belts during Ramadan as compared to non-Ramadan. Not much research exist on the influence of Ramadan on driving behaviours, and our research attempts to fill in this gap of knowledge. Below we review the driving behaviour literature relevant to our investigation. Speed control is one of the main parts of driving with setting a target speed for the traffic situation and adjusting the speed of the vehicle based on the target speed (Åberg & Wallén Warner, 2008). Though drivers can safely adjust their speeds based on speed limits (Goldenbeld & van Shagen, 2007), observations indicated that speeding is a routine behaviour on various road types (Glendon, 2007; Haglund & Åberg, 2002; Williams, Kyrychenko, & Retting, 2006; Åberg, Larsen, Glad, & Beilinsson, 1997). Several factors may determine drivers’ speed choice such as perception of the limit as credible, time of the day, congestion levels, time pressure, and road characteristics (see Fildes & Lee, 1993; Giles, 2004; Shinar & Compton, 2004). Horn honking has been considered as mild aggressive driver behaviour in the literature, especially in field studies based on the frustration-aggression model adapted to road user behaviours (see Shinar, 1998; also Deaux, 1971; Doob & Gross, 1968;Turner, Layton, & Simons, 1975). It is assumed that the goal of the driver is to achieve mobility with minimum interruptions. If a vehicle blocks the traffic flow at an intersection, other drivers’ expectations of mobility are violated, which may lead to mild aggression, i.e. honking the horn. Other researchers, however, have claimed that honking does not necessarily reflect aggression for every case in daily traffic. Depending on the frequency and the length of honking, it may have different meanings shaped by the particular traffic culture of a country (Özkan & Lajunen, 2011, chap. 14; Özkan, Lajunen, Chliaoutakis, Parker, & Summala, 2006). Honking threshold is, for example, much lower in Southern European countries (e.g., Turkey) than in Northern Europe and drivers use their horns to give a variety of messages such as warning other drivers. Seat belt is a protective safety device with demonstrated effectiveness in decreasing personal injury probability and severity. During an accident, it protects occupants from hitting the interior of the vehicle and from being thrown out of the vehicle (Elvik & Vaa, 2004). Despite its usefulness, seat belt usage rates show variation among countries (e.g. 17.6% in Ghana; Afukaar, Damsere-Derry, & Ackaah, 2010; 49% in China; Routley et al., 2008; and 83% in the USA; Chaudhary & Preusser, 2006) as well as among observed regions (e.g. higher usage on rural roads as compared to urban roads; Chaudhary & Preusser, 2006). A recent study conducted in Ankara city of Turkey among about 42,000 cases revealed that, for example, the average usage rate of drivers was 21.42% in total (Puvanachandra, Hoe, Özkan, Lajunen, & Hyder, 2011). 2. Method 2.1. Participants and Settings Observations of driver behaviours were conducted in the city of Ankara in Turkey: Specifically 1885 speed observations, 2106 seat belt use tallies, and 720 min of horn-honking video recordings were collected. Observations were conducted in the same region of Ankara. Speeds of vehicles were measured on a two-way eight-lane, straight, and divided road which is a mostly used one in Ankara traffic, called Dumlupınar Boulevard, close to the Ümitköy junction in Ankara (see Fig. 1). The road had a 50 km/h speed limit. Horn honking and seat belt use observations were taken at another location, on 8th street in Ümitköy, at a signalised intersection by Mahonya Park. This study was conducted between October and November 2006, and the weather was clear throughout the study. 2.2. Measures Speeds of free flowing vehicles were measured with a hand-held radar and recorded on an observational sheet. As the road was a two-way road, the speeds of the vehicles which were going to the city centre direction were measured in the morning and afternoon and the speeds of the vehicles coming from the city centre to the residential area direction were measured in the evening. Horn honking behaviours of drivers were recorded with a hidden camera. Each observation period lasted 30 min. There were 510 light cycles (i.e. red, yellow, green) in total. Two measures were used to examine horn-honking behaviours of drivers. The first measure was about whether a horn was honked when the light turned into green. The second measure Please cite this article in press as: Yıldırım-Yenier, Z., et al. Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Transportation Research Part F (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.05.001
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Fig. 1. Observation locations.
was about the length of the first horn. In the present study, observed drivers honked a single short horn or two successive short horns. If horns were longer or more frequent than these types, they were considered as long horns. It was supposed that different horn lengths may signify different tendencies: Short horns and two times horns may be, for instance, related to warning or informing the non-moving drivers about the traffic light situation. Long horns, on the other hand, may signify aggression towards the non-moving drivers. Seat belt use of drivers were observed excluding front seat and rear seat passengers and recorded on an observational sheet with other related information (i.e., the period as Ramadan/non-Ramadan, time of the day, and weather). Some driver related features such as gender and estimated age (in categories) were also coded, but not analysed to be consistent with the main aim of the present paper. 2.3. Procedure Observations on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts were made on three weekdays during and after Ramadan on different times of the day (i.e., morning, afternoon, and evening). Observation times were consistent in the morning and afternoon across the six days. Evening observations were adjusted to keep an hour gap before azan (i.e., the Moslem call to prayer that notifies the end of the day’s fasting). Horn honking measures were taken at two points in the evening, the last half an hour before azan and the first half an hour after azan. The observations were unobtrusive and the observed vehicles chosen randomly including all types of vehicles. 3. Results 3.1. Speeding Preliminary results showed that 94% of the cases violated the permitted speed limit (50 km/h) with minimum of 5 km/h. The overall mean speed was 78.95 km/h (SD = 15.14; range = 31–162). In order to examine if mean speed differed in relation
Please cite this article in press as: Yıldırım-Yenier, Z., et al. Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Transportation Research Part F (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.05.001
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to period (i.e. Ramadan, non-Ramadan) and time of the day (i.e. morning, afternoon, evening), a two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed. Findings revealed that, beside significant main effects, there was a significant interaction effect between period and time of the day on speeding, F(2,1869) = 6.30, p < .001; g2 = .005. Mean speed of Ramadan morning (M = 68.17) was significantly lower than those of Ramadan afternoon (M = 71.68) and Ramadan evening (M = 84.31). Mean speed of Ramadan afternoon (M = 71.68) was significantly lower than that of Ramadan evening (M = 84.31). Mean speeds of non-Ramadan morning (M = 77.99) and non-Ramadan afternoon (M = 80.38) were significantly lower than that of nonRamadan evening (M = 89.15). It seems that, in other words, the main trend of the mean speed of the vehicles across different times of the day was the same both in Ramadan and non-Ramadan periods. Findings, furthermore, indicated that mean speed of Ramadan morning was lower than that of non-Ramadan morning, M = 68.17 vs. M = 77.99. Mean speed of Ramadan afternoon was lower than that of non-Ramadan afternoon, M = 71.69 vs. M = 80.38. Mean speed of Ramadan evening was lower than that of non-Ramadan evening, M = 84.31 vs. M = 89.15 (see Fig. 2). Further analyses were performed via two-sample t-test between proportions to examine if the percentages of speeding drivers differed from each other. Regarding Ramadan period, the percentage of speeding drivers in the morning and afternoon did not significantly differ from each other, while both of them differed from the percentage of the evening, t (609) = 6.90, p < .001 and t (628) = 6.21, p < .001, respectively. Accordingly, the percentage of speeding drivers was higher in the evening compared to those of the morning and the afternoon. In non-Ramadan, on the other hand, the percentage of speeding drivers in the morning and evening did not significantly differ from each other, whereas the percentage of the afternoon differed from that of the morning, t (635) = 2.27, p < .05 and the evening, t (645) = 2.79, p < .01. Accordingly, the percentage of speeding drivers in the afternoon was lower than those of morning and evening. It should be noted that, however, speeding seems to be at ‘‘ceiling” level in each time of the day. When percentages of speeding drivers in Ramadan period were compared to those in non-Ramadan period regarding different times of the day, it was shown that the percentages in Ramadan significantly differed from those in non-Ramadan regarding morning, t (606) = 7.49, p < .001, afternoon, t (642) = 5.64, p < .001, and evening, t (631) = 2.05, p < .05. Speeding percentages were higher in non-Ramadan than in Ramadan in each time of the day (see Fig. 3). 3.2. Horn honking The horn honking dataset included 3 categorical variables as period (1 = Ramadan, 2 = non-Ramadan); time of the day (1 = morning, 2 = afternoon, 3 = evening before azan, 4 = evening after azan); and whether a horn was honked (1 = honked horn, 2 = no horn). Possible associations among these variables were tested with Multiway Frequency Analysis (MFA; also called log linear analysis) which is useful for testing relationships among three or more categorical variables (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2013). The purpose of MFA is to examine which variables (and variable levels) account for the distribution in a contingency table formed by the concerned variables. In order to examine the relationships among period, time of the day, and whether a horn was honked, a three-way hierarchical frequency analysis was performed. Preliminary model screening showed that, as a whole, three-way, two-way, and one-way effects were significant, though in particular there were significant interactions between period and honking, time and honking and a significant one-way effect of honking. A model was tested with the significant two-way effects and all the one-way effects; however, it was not retained due to poor fit of observed and expected frequencies (i.e., a significant likelihood ratio statistic). Individual parameter estimates showed that the strongest effect was one-way effect of ‘‘whether a horn was honked”; there were ‘‘honked horns” in 85.3% of the cases (435/510). Two-way (interaction) effects showed that there were more ‘‘honked horns” in Ramadan (53.3%) (232/435) as compared to ‘‘honked horns” in non-Ramadan (46.7%) (203/435). There was also a significant interaction between time and honking; ‘‘honked horns” in the morning (22.5%) (98/435) was lower than ‘‘honked horns” in the evening after azan (24.6%) (107/435) (see Table 1 for frequencies). In the same manner, another three-way hierarchical frequency analysis was performed to examine the relationships among period (1 = Ramadan, 2 = non-Ramadan); time of the day (1 = morning, 2 = afternoon, 3 = evening before azan,
Fig. 2. Mean speed in different times of the day during and after Ramadan.
Please cite this article in press as: Yıldırım-Yenier, Z., et al. Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Transportation Research Part F (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.05.001
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Fig. 3. Percentage of exceeding the permitted speed limit (sample sizes are shown in brackets).
Table 1 Frequencies of ‘‘honked horns” and ‘‘no horns” in different times of the day in Ramadan and non-Ramadan. Ramadan
Morning Afternoon Evening before azan Evening after azan Total
Non-Ramadan
No horn
Honked horn
No horn
Honked horn
10 14 0 1 25
52 58 67 55 232
18 10 11 11 50
46 60 45 52 203
Note 1. Percentages were computed in terms of each significant one-way or two-way effect. For instance, for the one-way effect, there were 435 honked horns out of 510 cases (85.3%). For the two-way effect, there were 232 honked horns in Ramadan out of 435 honked horns in total (53.3%). Note 2. Last categories of the variables were the reference categories against which comparisons were made. For instance, for the one-way effect of honking (1 = honked horn, 2 = no horn), the effect of 1 = honked horn was evaluated in comparison to 2 = no horn. For the two-way effect of period and honking, ‘‘honked horns” in Ramadan was compared to ‘‘honked horns” in non-Ramadan (‘‘no horn” category became redundant in the analysis).
4 = evening after azan) and first horn length (1 = short, 2 = two times, 3 = long; cases with no horns were excluded from the analysis). Preliminary model screening showed that only first order effects, in particular, horn length, was significant. There were more short beeps (58.4%) (254/435) as compared to long beeps (21.6%) (94/435). 3.3. Seat belt use Seat belt use dataset included three categorical variables as period (1 = Ramadan, 2 = non-Ramadan), time of the day (1 = morning, 2 = afternoon, 3 = evening), and seat belt use (1 = seat belt use, 2 = no use). Similar to horn honking analysis, a three-way hierarchical frequency analysis was performed to examine the relationships among these categorical variables. Preliminary model screening showed that, as a whole, two-way effects and one-way effects were significant. In particular, two-way interactions between period and seat belt use and between time and seat belt use, and each first order effect of time and seat belt use were significant. A model was tested with the significant two-way effects and all the one-way effects. The model had a good fit between observed frequencies and expected frequencies, v2(4) = 6.058, p = 0.195. Individual parameter estimates showed that the strongest effect in the model was the one-way effect of seat belt use which indicated that 20.2% of the cases (426/2106) wore a seat belt. Regarding the two-way (interaction) effects, seat belt use in Ramadan was low (42%) (179/426) as compared to seat belt use in non-Ramadan (58%) (247/426). Moreover, seat belt use in the morning (17.1%) (73/426) was low as compared to seat belt use in the evening (46.9%) (200/426) (This last finding should be interpreted with caution as discussed in the next section) (see Table 2 for frequencies). 4. Discussion This study suggests that Ramadan period had a limited role on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Findings indicated a significant interaction effect between period and times of the day on mean speed with a small effect size. Indeed, speeding was shown to be a common violation on this particular road as indicated by a high average speed (78.95 km/h) and the percentage of drivers exceeding the permitted speed limit (94%). In both Ramadan and non-Ramadan, higher mean speeds were observed in the evening, then in the afternoon and morning. The percentages of speeding drivers were mainly higher in the evening than in the afternoon and morning. Drivers probably associate evening with rush hour and have a sense
Please cite this article in press as: Yıldırım-Yenier, Z., et al. Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Transportation Research Part F (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.05.001
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Table 2 Frequencies of seat belt use and no use in different times of the day in Ramadan and non-Ramadan. Ramadan
Morning Afternoon Evening Total
Non-Ramadan
Seat belt use
No use
Seat belt use
No use
33 65 81 179
264 286 319 869
40 88 119 247
284 268 259 811
Note 1. Percentages were computed in terms of each significant one-way or two-way effect. For instance, for the one-way effect, there were 426 seat belt use cases out of 2106 total (seat belt use + no use) cases (20.2%). For the two-way effect, there were 179 seat belt use cases in Ramadan out of 426 seat belt use cases in total (42%). Note 2. Last categories of the variables were the reference categories against which comparisons were made. For instance, for the one-way effect of seat belt use (1 = seat belt use, 2 = no use), the effect of 1 = seat belt use was evaluated in comparison to 2 = no use. For the two-way effect of period and seat belt use, seat belt use in Ramadan was compared to seat belt use in non-Ramadan (‘‘no use” category became redundant in the analysis).
of time pressure which may lead to faster traffic flow especially during evening. However, mean speeds and percentage of speeding drivers were found to be significantly lower in Ramadan than non-Ramadan in each of morning, afternoon, and evening. It seems that Ramadan may have an additional impact on drivers’ lower speed choice in general. There were ‘‘honked horns” in most of the cases (85.3%) supporting the claim that horn honking is a common behaviour in Turkish traffic (Lajunen, Parker, & Summala, 2004). Beside this overarching effect, there were more ‘‘honked horns” in Ramadan as compared to non-Ramadan. Furthermore, ‘‘honked horns” in the morning was lower than ‘‘honked horns” in the evening after azan. It seems that the need to react to the experienced situation is higher during Ramadan and in the evening. Regarding the horn lengths, percentage of short beeps was higher than percentage of long beeps. It is apparent that horns were used rather for warning drivers rather than expressing anger. Horn lengths were not, on the other hand, found to significantly differ in relation to period or times of the day. Drivers seem to express a variety of messages by honking regardless of period and time of the day. Regarding seat belt use, the strongest effect was whether drivers wore a seat belt, which was shown to be low (i.e., 20.2%), supporting other studies done in Ankara on intracity roads (e.g. Puvanachandra et al., 2011). Beside this overarching effect, seat belt use in Ramadan was low as compared to seat belt use in non-Ramadan. It may be that Ramadan had an additional influence on increased risk taking which may lead to a failure to wear a seat belt. Moreover, seat belt use in the morning was low as compared to seat belt use in the evening. However, this result should be interpreted with caution: when Table 2 is examined, it can be seen that no use is also low in the morning as compared to evening, which makes interpretation difficult. There was a significant but weak correlation (r = .14) between time (1 = morning, 2 = afternoon, 3 = evening) and seat belt use (1 = seat belt use, 2 = no use) indicating that as time increases, seat belt use also increases. Another recent study done on intracity roads in Ankara (Özkan, Üzümcüog˘lu, et al., 2015) found that seat belt use rates were similar across four different time periods between 8:00 and 16:30. Moreover, an earlier study indicated that intracity seat belt use rates in the afternoon was not significantly different from those in the evening (Sßimsßekog˘lu, 2005). Based on these results, it can be said that there is a limited role of time of the day on seat belt usage rates. The present study provided an overall analysis of driving behaviours in Ramadan as compared to non-Ramadan. The main limitation of this study concerns its methodology of unobtrusive observations which makes it difficult to rule out possible confounding variables (see Hamed, Al-Eideh, & Al-Sharif, 1999). As Ramadan period was considered as a macro-level sociocultural factor, individual level data could not be gathered about whether the observed drivers were fasting or not. Similarly, the underlying dynamics and correlated factors cannot be identified in relation to driving in Ramadan. Further studies can be conducted at the individual level to reveal correlates of aberrant driving in the Ramadan period. In this sense, fasting and driving can be examined in terms of different perspectives such as psychological, moral, social, or spiritual. Another limitation of the study is that findings cannot be easily generalised to other cultural contexts as religiosity levels and traffic safety cultures of countries may differ (Esmer, 2012; Özkan & Lajunen, 2011). Despite its limitations, this study has made some contributions to the existing body of research. Regarding road safety, earlier studies have examined traffic accidents in relation to the Ramadan. This study expanded research into driving behaviours which are empirically more measurable and more open to interventions than accidents. This study furthermore showed that the observed driving behaviours of speeding, horn honking, and failure to use a seat belt are prevalent in the Turkish traffic or, at least, in the observed region of Ankara. Further efforts can focus on revealing underlying dynamics and correlates of these behaviours. It should be noted that traffic density as an inherent factor of road environment was considered and measured initially, but not used in the analyses for the following reasons. First, in terms of horn honking and seat belt use, there was a high correlation (around 0.70) between traffic density and time of the day. Moreover, speeds of vehicles in this study might have not been affected by density, since free flowing vehicles were observed on a non-signalised road. Second, Shinar and Compton (2004) claimed that sense of time pressure (i.e. high value of lost time) was more important than traffic density which may only mean more vehicles on the road. In this sense, observations were held on different times of the day in this study. In summary, this study revealed that Ramadan period had a limited role on speeding, horn honking, and not using seat belt, which seem to be common behaviours among Turkish drivers. It remains to be seen how Ramadan fasting is related to
Please cite this article in press as: Yıldırım-Yenier, Z., et al. Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Transportation Research Part F (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.05.001
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Transportation Research Part F journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/trf
Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts Zümrüt Yıldırım-Yenier a,c, Timo Lajunen b,⇑, Türker Özkan a a
Safety Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway c Population and Community Health Unit, Department of Family Medicine, Western University, London, Canada b
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 27 March 2014 Received in revised form 13 April 2015 Accepted 4 May 2015 Available online xxxx Keywords: Speeding Horn honking Seat belt use Ramadan Time of the day
a b s t r a c t The aim of this study was to examine how Ramadan, i.e., fasting month for believers of Islam, was associated to observable driving behaviours (i.e., speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts) as compared to non-Ramadan. Observations on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts were held during and after Ramadan in different times of the day in the same region of the city of Ankara. Speeds of 1885 vehicles were measured by hand held radar on a two-way eight-lane road with a 50 km/h speed limit. Horn honking was recorded at a signalised intersection with a hidden camera when the light turned into green in terms of 510 traffic light cycles. Seat belt wearing of 2106 drivers was observed at the same intersection. Findings indicated that (a) mean speed was lower, (b) honked horns were higher, and (c) seat belt use was lower in Ramadan as compared to nonRamadan, though each negative driving behaviour was prevalent in both periods. Thus this study showed that the Ramadan period had a limited role on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Ramadan is a religious month in which fasting is observed as a fundamental ritual of Islam. In practice, healthy adult Muslims observing the fast have to keep away from eating, drinking or taking any type of substance (e.g., oral medications, tobacco) from dawn to dusk (Bener, Azhar, & Bessisso, 2007; The Presidency of Religious Affairs, 2009; Welch, 1984). Believers must also obey the religious moral standards (e.g., to be patient; see The Presidency of Religious Affairs, 2009). If fasting may worsen one‘s health or if the person is ill, (s)he is excused from fasting with the advice of doctors and religious authorities. Still, some individuals behave on the contrary (Salti et al., 2004). Ramadan month is based on the lunar calendar and the time of observance starts each year around ten days earlier than the preceding year. Length of fasting in a day varies with the season and geographical site, which makes fasting longer in summer months and in northern latitudes (Bener et al., 2007). In Turkey, about 60% of people fast regularly during Ramadan, while others fast often, sometimes or never during this period (Barem Research, n.d.; Erdem, 2011). It has also been reported that fasting is more prevalent than other religious practices (e.g., performing Ṣala¯t, the ritual prayer) even though its prevalence may differ from season to season (e.g., higher in autumn than in summer). Ramadan fasting has been examined in terms of its effects on individual people. Roky, Houti, Moussamih, Qotbi, and Aadil (2004) reviewed the existing literature on Ramadan fasting and concluded that fasting does not worsen physical health (e.g., ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (T. Lajunen). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.05.001 1369-8478/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article in press as: Yıldırım-Yenier, Z., et al. Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Transportation Research Part F (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.05.001
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the daily average of hormonal serum levels) although fasting can influence the chronobiological and behavioural features and, thus, lead to decreased sleep quality, daytime alertness, psychomotor and physical performance. Roky et al. proposed these latter effects can account for the negative outcomes such as road accidents. Evidence based on hospital data indicated that there is mainly an increase in injuries resulting from traffic accidents during Ramadan (Bener, Absood, Achan, & Sankaran-Kutty, 1992; Roky et al., 2004; cf. with Khammash & Al-Shouha, 2006). For example, Al-Houqani, Eid, and AbuZidan (2013) recently showed that driving during Ramadan was a predictor of sleep related collisions which was prevalent during this particular period. Another study examining traffic accidents in Turkey between 1984 and 2004 found, however, that the number of accidents was not higher in Ramadan compared to other months (Tolon & Chernoff, 2007). It should be noted that these findings are limited to hospital data, i.e. to more severe injuries (Bener et al., 1992). Accident and injury data may be biased in general as they do not include minor accidents and can be confounded with factors not related to accident risk (Elander, West, & French, 1993). An alternative criterion for safety could be critical driving behaviours shown to be predictors of accidents (de Winter & Dodou, 2010). Driving behaviours can provide more information than accident and injury statistics as they are more frequent and can be empirically tested. Unfortunately, the relationship between Ramadan fasting and driving behaviours have remained mainly unexamined in the Muslim world. The present study investigated observable driving behaviours of (a) speeding, (b) horn honking, and (c) using seat belts during Ramadan as compared to non-Ramadan. Not much research exist on the influence of Ramadan on driving behaviours, and our research attempts to fill in this gap of knowledge. Below we review the driving behaviour literature relevant to our investigation. Speed control is one of the main parts of driving with setting a target speed for the traffic situation and adjusting the speed of the vehicle based on the target speed (Åberg & Wallén Warner, 2008). Though drivers can safely adjust their speeds based on speed limits (Goldenbeld & van Shagen, 2007), observations indicated that speeding is a routine behaviour on various road types (Glendon, 2007; Haglund & Åberg, 2002; Williams, Kyrychenko, & Retting, 2006; Åberg, Larsen, Glad, & Beilinsson, 1997). Several factors may determine drivers’ speed choice such as perception of the limit as credible, time of the day, congestion levels, time pressure, and road characteristics (see Fildes & Lee, 1993; Giles, 2004; Shinar & Compton, 2004). Horn honking has been considered as mild aggressive driver behaviour in the literature, especially in field studies based on the frustration-aggression model adapted to road user behaviours (see Shinar, 1998; also Deaux, 1971; Doob & Gross, 1968;Turner, Layton, & Simons, 1975). It is assumed that the goal of the driver is to achieve mobility with minimum interruptions. If a vehicle blocks the traffic flow at an intersection, other drivers’ expectations of mobility are violated, which may lead to mild aggression, i.e. honking the horn. Other researchers, however, have claimed that honking does not necessarily reflect aggression for every case in daily traffic. Depending on the frequency and the length of honking, it may have different meanings shaped by the particular traffic culture of a country (Özkan & Lajunen, 2011, chap. 14; Özkan, Lajunen, Chliaoutakis, Parker, & Summala, 2006). Honking threshold is, for example, much lower in Southern European countries (e.g., Turkey) than in Northern Europe and drivers use their horns to give a variety of messages such as warning other drivers. Seat belt is a protective safety device with demonstrated effectiveness in decreasing personal injury probability and severity. During an accident, it protects occupants from hitting the interior of the vehicle and from being thrown out of the vehicle (Elvik & Vaa, 2004). Despite its usefulness, seat belt usage rates show variation among countries (e.g. 17.6% in Ghana; Afukaar, Damsere-Derry, & Ackaah, 2010; 49% in China; Routley et al., 2008; and 83% in the USA; Chaudhary & Preusser, 2006) as well as among observed regions (e.g. higher usage on rural roads as compared to urban roads; Chaudhary & Preusser, 2006). A recent study conducted in Ankara city of Turkey among about 42,000 cases revealed that, for example, the average usage rate of drivers was 21.42% in total (Puvanachandra, Hoe, Özkan, Lajunen, & Hyder, 2011). 2. Method 2.1. Participants and Settings Observations of driver behaviours were conducted in the city of Ankara in Turkey: Specifically 1885 speed observations, 2106 seat belt use tallies, and 720 min of horn-honking video recordings were collected. Observations were conducted in the same region of Ankara. Speeds of vehicles were measured on a two-way eight-lane, straight, and divided road which is a mostly used one in Ankara traffic, called Dumlupınar Boulevard, close to the Ümitköy junction in Ankara (see Fig. 1). The road had a 50 km/h speed limit. Horn honking and seat belt use observations were taken at another location, on 8th street in Ümitköy, at a signalised intersection by Mahonya Park. This study was conducted between October and November 2006, and the weather was clear throughout the study. 2.2. Measures Speeds of free flowing vehicles were measured with a hand-held radar and recorded on an observational sheet. As the road was a two-way road, the speeds of the vehicles which were going to the city centre direction were measured in the morning and afternoon and the speeds of the vehicles coming from the city centre to the residential area direction were measured in the evening. Horn honking behaviours of drivers were recorded with a hidden camera. Each observation period lasted 30 min. There were 510 light cycles (i.e. red, yellow, green) in total. Two measures were used to examine horn-honking behaviours of drivers. The first measure was about whether a horn was honked when the light turned into green. The second measure Please cite this article in press as: Yıldırım-Yenier, Z., et al. Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Transportation Research Part F (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.05.001
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Fig. 1. Observation locations.
was about the length of the first horn. In the present study, observed drivers honked a single short horn or two successive short horns. If horns were longer or more frequent than these types, they were considered as long horns. It was supposed that different horn lengths may signify different tendencies: Short horns and two times horns may be, for instance, related to warning or informing the non-moving drivers about the traffic light situation. Long horns, on the other hand, may signify aggression towards the non-moving drivers. Seat belt use of drivers were observed excluding front seat and rear seat passengers and recorded on an observational sheet with other related information (i.e., the period as Ramadan/non-Ramadan, time of the day, and weather). Some driver related features such as gender and estimated age (in categories) were also coded, but not analysed to be consistent with the main aim of the present paper. 2.3. Procedure Observations on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts were made on three weekdays during and after Ramadan on different times of the day (i.e., morning, afternoon, and evening). Observation times were consistent in the morning and afternoon across the six days. Evening observations were adjusted to keep an hour gap before azan (i.e., the Moslem call to prayer that notifies the end of the day’s fasting). Horn honking measures were taken at two points in the evening, the last half an hour before azan and the first half an hour after azan. The observations were unobtrusive and the observed vehicles chosen randomly including all types of vehicles. 3. Results 3.1. Speeding Preliminary results showed that 94% of the cases violated the permitted speed limit (50 km/h) with minimum of 5 km/h. The overall mean speed was 78.95 km/h (SD = 15.14; range = 31–162). In order to examine if mean speed differed in relation
Please cite this article in press as: Yıldırım-Yenier, Z., et al. Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Transportation Research Part F (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.05.001
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to period (i.e. Ramadan, non-Ramadan) and time of the day (i.e. morning, afternoon, evening), a two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed. Findings revealed that, beside significant main effects, there was a significant interaction effect between period and time of the day on speeding, F(2,1869) = 6.30, p < .001; g2 = .005. Mean speed of Ramadan morning (M = 68.17) was significantly lower than those of Ramadan afternoon (M = 71.68) and Ramadan evening (M = 84.31). Mean speed of Ramadan afternoon (M = 71.68) was significantly lower than that of Ramadan evening (M = 84.31). Mean speeds of non-Ramadan morning (M = 77.99) and non-Ramadan afternoon (M = 80.38) were significantly lower than that of nonRamadan evening (M = 89.15). It seems that, in other words, the main trend of the mean speed of the vehicles across different times of the day was the same both in Ramadan and non-Ramadan periods. Findings, furthermore, indicated that mean speed of Ramadan morning was lower than that of non-Ramadan morning, M = 68.17 vs. M = 77.99. Mean speed of Ramadan afternoon was lower than that of non-Ramadan afternoon, M = 71.69 vs. M = 80.38. Mean speed of Ramadan evening was lower than that of non-Ramadan evening, M = 84.31 vs. M = 89.15 (see Fig. 2). Further analyses were performed via two-sample t-test between proportions to examine if the percentages of speeding drivers differed from each other. Regarding Ramadan period, the percentage of speeding drivers in the morning and afternoon did not significantly differ from each other, while both of them differed from the percentage of the evening, t (609) = 6.90, p < .001 and t (628) = 6.21, p < .001, respectively. Accordingly, the percentage of speeding drivers was higher in the evening compared to those of the morning and the afternoon. In non-Ramadan, on the other hand, the percentage of speeding drivers in the morning and evening did not significantly differ from each other, whereas the percentage of the afternoon differed from that of the morning, t (635) = 2.27, p < .05 and the evening, t (645) = 2.79, p < .01. Accordingly, the percentage of speeding drivers in the afternoon was lower than those of morning and evening. It should be noted that, however, speeding seems to be at ‘‘ceiling” level in each time of the day. When percentages of speeding drivers in Ramadan period were compared to those in non-Ramadan period regarding different times of the day, it was shown that the percentages in Ramadan significantly differed from those in non-Ramadan regarding morning, t (606) = 7.49, p < .001, afternoon, t (642) = 5.64, p < .001, and evening, t (631) = 2.05, p < .05. Speeding percentages were higher in non-Ramadan than in Ramadan in each time of the day (see Fig. 3). 3.2. Horn honking The horn honking dataset included 3 categorical variables as period (1 = Ramadan, 2 = non-Ramadan); time of the day (1 = morning, 2 = afternoon, 3 = evening before azan, 4 = evening after azan); and whether a horn was honked (1 = honked horn, 2 = no horn). Possible associations among these variables were tested with Multiway Frequency Analysis (MFA; also called log linear analysis) which is useful for testing relationships among three or more categorical variables (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2013). The purpose of MFA is to examine which variables (and variable levels) account for the distribution in a contingency table formed by the concerned variables. In order to examine the relationships among period, time of the day, and whether a horn was honked, a three-way hierarchical frequency analysis was performed. Preliminary model screening showed that, as a whole, three-way, two-way, and one-way effects were significant, though in particular there were significant interactions between period and honking, time and honking and a significant one-way effect of honking. A model was tested with the significant two-way effects and all the one-way effects; however, it was not retained due to poor fit of observed and expected frequencies (i.e., a significant likelihood ratio statistic). Individual parameter estimates showed that the strongest effect was one-way effect of ‘‘whether a horn was honked”; there were ‘‘honked horns” in 85.3% of the cases (435/510). Two-way (interaction) effects showed that there were more ‘‘honked horns” in Ramadan (53.3%) (232/435) as compared to ‘‘honked horns” in non-Ramadan (46.7%) (203/435). There was also a significant interaction between time and honking; ‘‘honked horns” in the morning (22.5%) (98/435) was lower than ‘‘honked horns” in the evening after azan (24.6%) (107/435) (see Table 1 for frequencies). In the same manner, another three-way hierarchical frequency analysis was performed to examine the relationships among period (1 = Ramadan, 2 = non-Ramadan); time of the day (1 = morning, 2 = afternoon, 3 = evening before azan,
Fig. 2. Mean speed in different times of the day during and after Ramadan.
Please cite this article in press as: Yıldırım-Yenier, Z., et al. Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Transportation Research Part F (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.05.001
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Fig. 3. Percentage of exceeding the permitted speed limit (sample sizes are shown in brackets).
Table 1 Frequencies of ‘‘honked horns” and ‘‘no horns” in different times of the day in Ramadan and non-Ramadan. Ramadan
Morning Afternoon Evening before azan Evening after azan Total
Non-Ramadan
No horn
Honked horn
No horn
Honked horn
10 14 0 1 25
52 58 67 55 232
18 10 11 11 50
46 60 45 52 203
Note 1. Percentages were computed in terms of each significant one-way or two-way effect. For instance, for the one-way effect, there were 435 honked horns out of 510 cases (85.3%). For the two-way effect, there were 232 honked horns in Ramadan out of 435 honked horns in total (53.3%). Note 2. Last categories of the variables were the reference categories against which comparisons were made. For instance, for the one-way effect of honking (1 = honked horn, 2 = no horn), the effect of 1 = honked horn was evaluated in comparison to 2 = no horn. For the two-way effect of period and honking, ‘‘honked horns” in Ramadan was compared to ‘‘honked horns” in non-Ramadan (‘‘no horn” category became redundant in the analysis).
4 = evening after azan) and first horn length (1 = short, 2 = two times, 3 = long; cases with no horns were excluded from the analysis). Preliminary model screening showed that only first order effects, in particular, horn length, was significant. There were more short beeps (58.4%) (254/435) as compared to long beeps (21.6%) (94/435). 3.3. Seat belt use Seat belt use dataset included three categorical variables as period (1 = Ramadan, 2 = non-Ramadan), time of the day (1 = morning, 2 = afternoon, 3 = evening), and seat belt use (1 = seat belt use, 2 = no use). Similar to horn honking analysis, a three-way hierarchical frequency analysis was performed to examine the relationships among these categorical variables. Preliminary model screening showed that, as a whole, two-way effects and one-way effects were significant. In particular, two-way interactions between period and seat belt use and between time and seat belt use, and each first order effect of time and seat belt use were significant. A model was tested with the significant two-way effects and all the one-way effects. The model had a good fit between observed frequencies and expected frequencies, v2(4) = 6.058, p = 0.195. Individual parameter estimates showed that the strongest effect in the model was the one-way effect of seat belt use which indicated that 20.2% of the cases (426/2106) wore a seat belt. Regarding the two-way (interaction) effects, seat belt use in Ramadan was low (42%) (179/426) as compared to seat belt use in non-Ramadan (58%) (247/426). Moreover, seat belt use in the morning (17.1%) (73/426) was low as compared to seat belt use in the evening (46.9%) (200/426) (This last finding should be interpreted with caution as discussed in the next section) (see Table 2 for frequencies). 4. Discussion This study suggests that Ramadan period had a limited role on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Findings indicated a significant interaction effect between period and times of the day on mean speed with a small effect size. Indeed, speeding was shown to be a common violation on this particular road as indicated by a high average speed (78.95 km/h) and the percentage of drivers exceeding the permitted speed limit (94%). In both Ramadan and non-Ramadan, higher mean speeds were observed in the evening, then in the afternoon and morning. The percentages of speeding drivers were mainly higher in the evening than in the afternoon and morning. Drivers probably associate evening with rush hour and have a sense
Please cite this article in press as: Yıldırım-Yenier, Z., et al. Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Transportation Research Part F (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.05.001
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Table 2 Frequencies of seat belt use and no use in different times of the day in Ramadan and non-Ramadan. Ramadan
Morning Afternoon Evening Total
Non-Ramadan
Seat belt use
No use
Seat belt use
No use
33 65 81 179
264 286 319 869
40 88 119 247
284 268 259 811
Note 1. Percentages were computed in terms of each significant one-way or two-way effect. For instance, for the one-way effect, there were 426 seat belt use cases out of 2106 total (seat belt use + no use) cases (20.2%). For the two-way effect, there were 179 seat belt use cases in Ramadan out of 426 seat belt use cases in total (42%). Note 2. Last categories of the variables were the reference categories against which comparisons were made. For instance, for the one-way effect of seat belt use (1 = seat belt use, 2 = no use), the effect of 1 = seat belt use was evaluated in comparison to 2 = no use. For the two-way effect of period and seat belt use, seat belt use in Ramadan was compared to seat belt use in non-Ramadan (‘‘no use” category became redundant in the analysis).
of time pressure which may lead to faster traffic flow especially during evening. However, mean speeds and percentage of speeding drivers were found to be significantly lower in Ramadan than non-Ramadan in each of morning, afternoon, and evening. It seems that Ramadan may have an additional impact on drivers’ lower speed choice in general. There were ‘‘honked horns” in most of the cases (85.3%) supporting the claim that horn honking is a common behaviour in Turkish traffic (Lajunen, Parker, & Summala, 2004). Beside this overarching effect, there were more ‘‘honked horns” in Ramadan as compared to non-Ramadan. Furthermore, ‘‘honked horns” in the morning was lower than ‘‘honked horns” in the evening after azan. It seems that the need to react to the experienced situation is higher during Ramadan and in the evening. Regarding the horn lengths, percentage of short beeps was higher than percentage of long beeps. It is apparent that horns were used rather for warning drivers rather than expressing anger. Horn lengths were not, on the other hand, found to significantly differ in relation to period or times of the day. Drivers seem to express a variety of messages by honking regardless of period and time of the day. Regarding seat belt use, the strongest effect was whether drivers wore a seat belt, which was shown to be low (i.e., 20.2%), supporting other studies done in Ankara on intracity roads (e.g. Puvanachandra et al., 2011). Beside this overarching effect, seat belt use in Ramadan was low as compared to seat belt use in non-Ramadan. It may be that Ramadan had an additional influence on increased risk taking which may lead to a failure to wear a seat belt. Moreover, seat belt use in the morning was low as compared to seat belt use in the evening. However, this result should be interpreted with caution: when Table 2 is examined, it can be seen that no use is also low in the morning as compared to evening, which makes interpretation difficult. There was a significant but weak correlation (r = .14) between time (1 = morning, 2 = afternoon, 3 = evening) and seat belt use (1 = seat belt use, 2 = no use) indicating that as time increases, seat belt use also increases. Another recent study done on intracity roads in Ankara (Özkan, Üzümcüog˘lu, et al., 2015) found that seat belt use rates were similar across four different time periods between 8:00 and 16:30. Moreover, an earlier study indicated that intracity seat belt use rates in the afternoon was not significantly different from those in the evening (Sßimsßekog˘lu, 2005). Based on these results, it can be said that there is a limited role of time of the day on seat belt usage rates. The present study provided an overall analysis of driving behaviours in Ramadan as compared to non-Ramadan. The main limitation of this study concerns its methodology of unobtrusive observations which makes it difficult to rule out possible confounding variables (see Hamed, Al-Eideh, & Al-Sharif, 1999). As Ramadan period was considered as a macro-level sociocultural factor, individual level data could not be gathered about whether the observed drivers were fasting or not. Similarly, the underlying dynamics and correlated factors cannot be identified in relation to driving in Ramadan. Further studies can be conducted at the individual level to reveal correlates of aberrant driving in the Ramadan period. In this sense, fasting and driving can be examined in terms of different perspectives such as psychological, moral, social, or spiritual. Another limitation of the study is that findings cannot be easily generalised to other cultural contexts as religiosity levels and traffic safety cultures of countries may differ (Esmer, 2012; Özkan & Lajunen, 2011). Despite its limitations, this study has made some contributions to the existing body of research. Regarding road safety, earlier studies have examined traffic accidents in relation to the Ramadan. This study expanded research into driving behaviours which are empirically more measurable and more open to interventions than accidents. This study furthermore showed that the observed driving behaviours of speeding, horn honking, and failure to use a seat belt are prevalent in the Turkish traffic or, at least, in the observed region of Ankara. Further efforts can focus on revealing underlying dynamics and correlates of these behaviours. It should be noted that traffic density as an inherent factor of road environment was considered and measured initially, but not used in the analyses for the following reasons. First, in terms of horn honking and seat belt use, there was a high correlation (around 0.70) between traffic density and time of the day. Moreover, speeds of vehicles in this study might have not been affected by density, since free flowing vehicles were observed on a non-signalised road. Second, Shinar and Compton (2004) claimed that sense of time pressure (i.e. high value of lost time) was more important than traffic density which may only mean more vehicles on the road. In this sense, observations were held on different times of the day in this study. In summary, this study revealed that Ramadan period had a limited role on speeding, horn honking, and not using seat belt, which seem to be common behaviours among Turkish drivers. It remains to be seen how Ramadan fasting is related to
Please cite this article in press as: Yıldırım-Yenier, Z., et al. Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Transportation Research Part F (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.05.001
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driving behaviours at the individual level. More research is also needed to examine the contributing factors to the prevalence of the concerned driving behaviours. References Åberg, L., Larsen, L., Glad, A., & Beilinsson, L. (1997). Observed vehicle speed and drivers‘ perceived speed of others. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46, 287–302. Åberg, L., & Wallén Warner, H. (2008). Speeding-deliberate violation or involuntary mistake? Revue Européenne de Psychologie Appliquée, 58, 23–30. Afukaar, F. K., Damsere-Derry, J., & Ackaah, W. (2010). Observed seat belt use in Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 38, 280–289. Abstract retrieved from PubMed database. Al-Houqani, M., Eid, H. O., & Abu-Zidan, F. M. (2013). Sleep-related collisions in United Arab Emirates. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 50, 1052–1055. Barem Research (n.d.). Ramazanın düsßündürdükleri - Oruç, namaz ve ötesi. Retrieved December 20, 2013 from
Please cite this article in press as: Yıldırım-Yenier, Z., et al. Driving in the fasting month of Ramadan: An observational study on speeding, horn honking, and using seat belts. Transportation Research Part F (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.05.001