A Study on Curbside Overtaking in Sri Lankan Streets

Abstract

Overtaking slower moving vehicles on the curbside under mix traffic condition is very common in Sri Lanka. The overtaking should never be done from the curbside as a rule of thumb, also rules and regulations regarding the overtaking should be never broken by drivers. Traffic accidents statistics reveal that main cause for serious accidents in Sri Lanka are excessive speed and incorrect overtaking. However, to the best of authors’ knowledge any research about curbside overtaking behavior has not been done so far. Objectives of this study are to investigate self-reported drivers’ overtaking behavior, and to find out drivers’ perspective about current rules and regulations on overtaking. A questionnaire form was developed, and a survey was conducted to collect data among 430 people in Colombo district. Chi–square tests and multinomial logistic regression analysis were done. Chi – square test results showed that among the selected variables, gender, age, occupation, driving license availability, charged a fine or accident due to curbside overtaking are the main factors that affect the curbside overtaking. The results of this study are facilitative to understand characteristics and some reasons behind curbside overtaking. Some methods such as educate public about dangerous overtaking and rules by organizing awareness programs, increasing fine for curbside overtaking, and imposing new laws are suggested to minimize the number of road accidents caused by overtaking slow moving vehicles on the curbside of the road.