Background Speeding behaviour has been recognised as one of the most important risk factor of fatal Road Traffic Crashes (RTC) and has been consistently reported as the main cause of RTCs in Oman. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with speeding behaviour using Health Belief Model (HBM)

Methods A total of 1286 Omani male drivers visiting Directorate of Vehicle Registration at Royal Oman Police (ROP) were randomly selected and surveyed using a validated questionnaire. The questionnaire items included questions on socio-demographic characteristics, driving behaviour, driving history and the subscales of the HBM. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association between speeding behaviour and the constructs of the HBM.

Results Around 60% of the drivers reported not respecting the speeding limit on the highways of which 70% of them were always crossing the speeding limit. Around 50% of the drivers reported an involvement in a road traffic crashes in the last three years of which 10% relate the cause of the crash to speeding. A significant association between speeding behaviour and the psychosocial characteristic of the participants (Age, driving license age, having children, monthly income, motoring and speeding offences was observed. In Multivariate logistic regrsession anlayis, speeding behaviour was significantly predicted by perceived benefits of respecting the speed limits and barriers of respecting the speed limits.

Conclusions HBM serves as a good explanatory model for speeding behaviour among Omani male drivers in Oman. The perceived benefits of speeding may be used in awareness campaigns that target change of speeding behaviour.