Road Safety Practices Among Commercial Motorcyclists in a Rural Town in Nigeria: Implications for Health Education

This article reports on a cross-sectional, community-based interview study was carried out among commercial motorcyclists (n = 299) in Igboora, Nigeria. The survey included information on the respondents' sociodemographic characteristics, and the practice of road safety measures. All of the survey respondents were male; the mean age of the respondents was 27.4 years (plus or minus 7.4 years). The knowledge of road safety codes was assessed by showing the motorcyclists the 25 most commonly-used road signs and asking them for the meaning and its importance. Of the respondents, 182 (60.7%) had accurate knowledge of the purpose of Highway Code. Only 70 (23.3%) could recognize more than half of the currently used road safety codes (signs) and 47 (15.7%) obey these road safety codes more than half of the time they see them. A majority of these commercial motocyclists (56.3%) had been driving for less than 5 years; only 27 (9.0%) had been on the job for over 10 years. Only 183 (61.2%) of the respondents had a driving license, 72 (24.1%) of whom were able to produce these licenses on demand. None of respondents wore a protective helmet. Nearly half (136 riders) were involved in at least one accident in the preceding year. There was a statistically significant association between the practice of road safety codes and the occurrence of road traffic accidents. The authors conclude that introducing road safety education particularly for motorcyclists on the importance and practice of road safety measures would lead to an increase in the practice of these safety measures and subsequently a reduction in the incidence of road traffic accidents.

• Authors:
  • Amoran, O E
  • Eme, Owoaje
  • Giwa, O A
  • Gbolahan, OB
• Publication Date: 2005

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 55-64
• Serial:
  • International Quarterly of Community Health Education
  • Volume: 24
  • Issue Number: 1

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Commercial drivers; Demographics; Motorcycle helmets; Motorcyclists; Prevention; Safety; Safety education; Traffic crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Age factors; Motorcycle safety; Road signs
• Geographic Terms: Igboora (Nigeria); Nigeria
• Subject Areas: Education and Training; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; Society; Vehicles and Equipment; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor; I84: Personal Injuries;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01047276
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 27 2007 2:31PM