Abstract

Traffic accidents are a serious issue of public safety which results in a high number of deaths and injuries. Using the cell phone or smoking result in accidents while driving, whose consequences can and may turn into a more serious situation in case the driver and passengers aren’t using safety belts. The present study had the purpose of describing what the risk behaviors are among drivers in the city of Braga (Portugal). This is an observational study carried out between May and June of 2020, taking note of the drivers’ gender, the presence (or absence) of children inside the vehicles, the usage of cell phones while driving, smoking (someone actively smoking while driving), the usage of the safety belt and the usage of safety equipment designed for children. Among the 499 drivers subject to observation, 9.0% (n=45) were smoking, 13.4% (n=67) were using the cell phone and 1.8% (n=9) of the observed drivers were not using the safety belt. It is important to point out that 24.2% of the drivers were engaging in some sort of risk behavior while driving, with a prevalence of 23.5% among women and 24.8% in men. This study allowed us to detect the existence of significant percentages of drivers who engaged in risk behaviors while driving.