Strength and Direction of Demographic Variables as Determinants of Driver-Chauffeur Satisfaction in Judicial Procedural Fairness

Abstract

Studies have shown that treating litigants fairly is one way by which public confidence can be improved and sustained in the judiciary. Demographic features of such individuals may also influence their confidence indirectly and how they are satisfied with the procedures in the criminal justice system directly. The rationale of implementing the study was therefore to establish the extent of dissatisfaction of procedural fairness within the driver-chauffeur community in Cape Coast Metropolis in the Central Region of Ghana. The objectives were to determine the strength, direction and odds ratio of the major satisfaction predictors with reference to demographic characteristics. The study employed the purposive method, dwelling on the accidental technique to sample drivers and chauffeurs who had on one occasion or more fallen victim of traffic offence. Eighty subjects were sampled. The demographic variables considered include age; driving experience; type of vehicle; brand of vehicle; religion; and highest education attainment in relation to ten judicial fairness characteristics. Logistic regression was employed as the statistical tool to analyze the data using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 21. Generally, factors that influenced satisfaction were experience in driving (β2 = -0.667); type of vehicle (β3 = 0.553); religion (β4 = -0.363); highest educational attainment (β5 = -1.306) and brand of vehicle (β6 = -1.809). The contribution of age to the combined model was insignificant (ρ = 0.337). The paper recommends that judges in the metropolis should take these factors into consideration when hearing and deciding on matters concerning traffic offences.Key words: age; driving experience; educational attainment; religion; vehicle brand; vehicle type.