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Abstract
Background: Injuries caused by motor vehicle accidents in Middle East countries are among the highest in the world. Several successful interventions preventing road traffic injuries in developed countries have been practiced; however, these interventions have not been tailored to the cultural, behavioral, and environmental milieu of low- and middle-income countries. Scientifically based efforts to understand risk factors for traffic injury in these countries are needed and they must be translated into prevention programs that are well designed and assessed. This qualitative study is designed to delineate motorcycle use among Iranian motorcyclists and identify motivational correlates for risk behaviors that may result in accidental injury and death.
Methods: Focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted among motorcyclists, motorcycle passengers, and police officers.
Results: Seven accident-related risk behaviors were identified: (1) performing stunts, (2) disobeying traffic rules, (3) driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, (4) riding without proper skills or qualifications, (5) illegally transporting passengers, (6) illegally transporting cargo, and (7) not wearing a helmet. These behaviors correspond with four main motivational themes for motorcycle-riding that emerged from our data: (1) convenient commuting, (2) occupational transportation, (3) recreation and sensation seeking, and (4) criminal activity.
Conclusion: This study indicates that Iranian motorcyclists can be categorized into distinct groups according to motivation for motorcycle use. The results of this study indicate that motorcyclist risky behaviors are related to motivational factors. Furthermore, regardless of the motivational factors, disobedience of traffic rules was a common risk behavior among all four motivational groups. The relationship between motivation to ride and associated risk behaviors is important because it begins to build a general framework that will help researchers target specific groups that are most in need of interventions to reduce motorcycle accidents in Iran.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the Tarbiat Modares University, which officially and financially supported this research. We thank all participants (motorcyclists, family members, and police) and staff in the police station for their cooperation.