Objective: Car telephone use has increased against the background of rapid escalation in general mobile phone services and use. The study was designed to determine the relationship between the use of mobile phone while driving and the incidence of road traffic accident amongst motorists in Zaria. Method:The study was carried out using cross-sectional descriptive survey design. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The population of this study comprises of motorists from the three major parks in Zaria making a total of 544 motorists out of which 225 respondents were sampled using stratified random sampling method for the study.Results: More than three quarters (87%) of the respondents use their mobile phones while driving. Majority (70%) of the respondents are aware of the possible hazards or risk associated with using mobile phones while driving. 72% of the motorists are unwilling to stop answering calls or use their mobile phones for the purpose of text messages while driving. Conclusion:Laws should be implemented to ban drivers from using hand held mobile phones while driving and fines should be imposed on violators of the law. Increasing awareness on the hazards of mobile phone use while driving should be created especially in the media. Resume Objectif: L'utilisation de la téléphonie automobile a augmenté dans le contexte d'une escalade rapide des services et de l'utilisation générale du téléphone mobile. L'étude a été conçue pour déterminer la relation entre l'utilisation du téléphone mobile pendant la conduite et l'incidence de l'accident de la circulation routière chez les automobilistes à Zaria. KeywordsMéthode: L'étude a été réalisée à l'aide d'un plan d'enquête descriptif transversal. Un questionnaire autoadministré a été utilisé pour la collecte des données. La population de cette étude comprend des automobilistes des trois principaux parcs de Zaria, faisant un total de 544 automobilistes sur lesquels 225 répondants ont été échantillonnés au moyen de la méthode d'échantillonnage aléatoire stratifiée pour l'étude.Résultats: Plus des trois quarts (87%) des répondants utilisent leur téléphone mobile pendant la conduite. La majorité (70%) des répondants sont conscients des dangers possibles ou des risques associés à l'utilisation de téléphones mobiles pendant la conduite. 72% des automobilistes ne sont pas disposés à arrêter de répondre aux appels ou d'utiliser leurs téléphones mobiles à des fins de messages texte pendant la conduite. Conclusion:Des lois devraient être mises en place pour interdire aux conducteurs d'utiliser des téléphones mobiles à main pendant leur conduite et des amendes devraient être imposées aux contrevenants de la loi. Une sensibilisation accrue aux dangers de l'utilisation du téléphone mobile pendant la conduite devrait être créée en particulier dans les médias.

Abstract

The effect of saw dust ash on index and engineering properties of a weak lateritic soil was carried out in this study. Specimens prepared from lateritic samples were tested for its gradation (sieve analysis), unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and compaction parameters (MDD and OMC) at energy level of British Standard Light (BSL). The samples were admixed with varying percentages of saw dust ash (SDA) and the tests were repeated on the admixed samples. The general trend of the results shows that the gradation of the soil improved from A-7-5 to A-5 at 4% SDA content by American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) soil classification system, UCS values also peaked to 237.12 kN/m2 at 4% SDA content while the compaction parameters were still best at the natural stage at BSL energy level. The peak UCS value, though, shows an improvement of 26.9% when compared to that of natural soil, it still falls below the minimum specified value for base material stabilization using OPC (1710 kN/m2) as well as that for sub-base material (687-1373 kN/m2). From the work, 4% stabilization of weak lateritic soil with SDA can improve some index and engineering properties of a weak lateritic soil. It is also evident that the resulting stabilized soil should not be used for pavement construction. Nevertheless, addition of 4% SDA to weak lateritic soil should be encouraged when slight gradation improvement is the only target. Keywords: index properties; engineering properties; lateritic soil; saw dust ash; stabilization.

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