Motorcyclist risky riding behaviors and its predictors in an Iranian population

Background: motorcyclist’s behavior plays an important role in increasing the mortality ratecaused by traffic crash. identifying the risky behaviors of motorcycle riders is essential tomaintain and improve the health of motorcycle riders and other community members.the aim of this study was to determine the riding patterns and risky riding behaviors ofmotorcycle riders in bukan as a marginal small-sized kurdish populated district in north-west ofiran and investigating some predictors of it.methods: in this cross-sectional, 340 motorcycle riders of bukan were studied. by referring to cityhealth center and preparing the city map, the entire city was divided into 14 clusters based onthe areas covered by the health centers. then, 7 clusters were randomly selected out of these 14clusters. motorcycle riding behavior questionnaire (mrbq) was used to study the risky behaviorsof motorcycle riders while riding. both bivariate and multivariate regression analysis methodswere used to study the associations.results: all participants were male. their mean age was 30.2 (sd=9.1). the most common riskybehaviors possessed by at least 23% of motorcycle riders included 1) inappropriate control ofmotorcycle when turning, 2) taking another person without helmet by motorcycle, 3) riding withouthelmet, 4) taking more than one person by motorcycle, 5) exceeding the permissible speed outercity, 6) exceeding the permissible speed inside the city and 7) carrying heavy load bymotorcycle. mean normalized mrbq score was 30.5 (sd=11.2). based on multivariate analysis,age, lacking a riding license, riding experience and average amount of riding were theindependent predictors of risky riding score.conclusions: among the predictive factors that led to high risk behaviors in the studiedmotorcyclists were low age, marital status, low driving experience, low education, non-use ofsafety equipment lack of certification. this can be done by increasing drivers' awareness of lawsand regulations and promoting the culture of traffic safety to prevent high-risk behaviors inmotorcyclists in order to prevent possible injuries.