The effectiveness of introducing detection cameras on compliance with mobile phone and seatbelt : a before-after study among drivers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Because Saudi Arabia (SA) has struggled with the burden of Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs) for decades, a new automated citations system was implemented in 2018 to improve compliance with seatbelt and mobile phone laws. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the system on the prevalence of seatbelt and mobile phone use among drivers in Riyadh. This is an observational study conducted between 2017 and 2018. A pre-post evaluation was employed to determine the impact of a camera detection system on seatbelt and mobile phone use. Two research coordinators collected the observations at several highways and inner intersections around Riyadh (n = 3400). The authors evaluated differences in the prevalence of seatbelt and mobile phone use across the two time periods using a chi-2 test. In addition, they evaluated the association between the new intervention and traffic violation using a logistic regression model. (Author/publisher)