Compliance of commercial motorcyclists with road safety measures in a Nigerian metropolitan city

Abstract

Objectives: Motorcycle crashes are the second most common cause of road traffic injuries in Nigeria, which can be prevented through compliance with road safety measures. Compliance is defined as a state of being in accordance with established guidelines or legislations. There is a dearth of information on compliance with these measures by motorcyclists in Ibadan. Commercial motorcyclists often ignore safety measures, making them prone to accidents with other road users. This study therefore assessed the knowledge and reported compliance of commercial motorcyclists in Ibadan North Local Government Area with road safety measures as well as the factors influencing compliance.

Data and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among motorcyclists in all 5 motorcycle parks in the city of Ibadan. Participants were selected through a simple random sampling technique after a proportional allocation to the size of the motorcyclists in the parks was concluded. A total of 439 motorcyclists were interviewed. A pretested, semistructured, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, reported compliance, and attitudes toward road safety measures (Nigeria Highway Code). A total of 34 items on traffic rules and regulations were used to assess compliance. Chi-square test and logistic regression were used for analysis at a 5% level of significance.

Result: Respondents were aged 34.4 ± 7.8 years. All respondents were male and 15.2% had a tertiary education in a university or institution of higher learning. About 20.0% had no proper formal or informal training as motorcyclists. Ninety-four respondents (21.6%) self-reported ever being involved in a motorcycle crash, of which 32 (34.0%) occurred 6 months preceding the study. About half of respondents (51.9%) had good knowledge of road safety measures. About 50.6% of the respondents were compliant with road safety measures. Only 54.4% of respondents who had ever been involved in a motorcycle crash were wearing a crash helmet at the time of the crash. However, 71.8% of respondents had a crash helmet with them during the study. About 73.6% owned the motorcycles they rode. About two thirds (60.4%) of motorcycle owners were significantly more compliant compared to 23.3% of those who were not owners. Respondents who were motorcycle owners were almost 4 times more likely to be compliant with road safety measures than those who were not owners (odds ratio [OR] = 4.0; confidence interval [CI], 2.0–7).

Conclusion: Commercial motorcycle ownership and training contributed to knowledge and compliance with road safety measures and consequently low reporting of motorcycle crash. There is therefore the need to encourage ownership, conduct training, and create stringent laws to guide road safety.

Keywords:

• Commercial motorcyclists
• crash helmet
• road safety measures