| dc.description |
Traffic crashes are a major cause of global morbidity and mortality mostly affecting low- and middle-income countries whereby deaths and injuries of road traffic accidents occur in developing countries. Commercial motorcyclists take the upfront vulnerability for wide-open to traffic risks with limited use of safety equipment. This study made an assessment of the knowledge, attitude, and practices on the compliance with road safety measures among commercial motorcyclists in Dodoma region of Tanzania.
An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted with commercial motorcyclists in Dodoma region between June and July 2020. Sample size was 378 commercial motorcyclists. Dodoma city and Chamwino district were sampled purposively and through lottery method, 6 out of 41 wards of Dodoma city council were selected and purposive sampling was used to select 3 wards close to the highway out of 36 in Chamwino district. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents who were sampled by convenience technique. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between commercial motorcyclists' characteristics and compliance with road safety measures.
The results revealed that commercial motorcyclists with mean age of 25.14 years and standard deviation (SD) of 4.13, about 60.8% had poor compliance with road safety measures, 62.2% had adequate knowledge of road safety measures, 59.2% had a positive attitude on road safety measures, and 55% had poor practices on compliance to road safety measures. Further, 39.9% of commercial motorcyclists did not attend to driving school, 53.2% did not have a driving license, and 59.1% do not put on a helmet when cycling. Marital status associated to compliance with road safety measures p=0.056, (OR = 0.658; 95% CI: 0.428 – 1.011), in the sense that single commercial motorcyclists are 65.8% at risk to road accidents for their poor compliance with road safety measures. Residence was significantly (p<0.05) associated with knowledge on compliance with road safety measures (OR = 0.373: 95% CI: 0.169 – 0.819). Education was significantly (p<0.05) associated with knowledge on compliance with road safety measures (OR = 0.501: 95% CI: 0.260 – 0.967). Working experience associated with practice of commercial motorcyclists p=0.796, (OR = 0.827; 95% CI: 0.196 – 3.486), in a sense that commercial motorcyclists with 1 to 3 years of working experience were 82.7% at risk to road accidents as having poor practice on compliance with road safety measures. Poor practice was associated with inadequate knowledge p=0.054, (OR = 0.636; 95% CI: 0.401 – 1.007), in a sense that commercial motorcyclists with poor practices are 63.6% at risk to road accidents as having inadequate knowledge on compliance with road safety measures.
The practices on compliance with road safety measures among commercial motorcyclists in Dodoma region are poor and majority did not attended to driving schools. There must be campaigns on ensuring commercial motorcyclists attend to driving schools as a strategy to reduce the risks for road accidents. |
|