Road safety regulations among commercial motorcyclists in Douala, Cameroon

Abstract

Background: Road traffic accidents among motorcyclists have persisted as a serious Public Health problem and much of the economic burden is felt in the Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Objective: To assess knowledge, attitude, and practice of road safety regulations among commercial motorcyclists in Douala. Materials and Methods; A cross-sectional study was carried out in Douala in purposively selected neighborhoods. A total of 700 participants were recruited and given a structured questionnaire to respond to on sociodemographic data, knowledge, attitude and practice. Data was inputted into Epi Info 7.0 and analysed using SPSS statistical software. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of the University of Buea. Results: 672 (96%) commercial motorcyclists responded to the questionnaires. Respondents with driver’s licenses were more likely to present with positive attitudes towards road safety regulations (COR; 2.14, 95% CI: 1.45-3.17, p=0.000). A motorcyclist who had received formal training (COR 3.50, 95% CI: 1.49-8.19, p = 0.004) were significantly associated with positive attitudes towards road safety regulations. Furthermore, ownership of driver’s license by commercial motorcyclists significantly predicted positive attitudes towards road safety regulations (AOR; 2.14, 95% CI: 1.45-3.17, p=0.000). Moreover, riding the motorcycle for more than 5 years (AOR; 3.77, 95% CI: 1.19-11.96, p=0.025), ownership of driving license (AOR; 1.98, 95% CI: 1.39-2.81, p=0.000), holder of driver’s license for more than one year (3.05, 95% CI: 1.25-7.43, p=0.014) significantly predicted good practices. 78.8% of the motorcyclists were observed not wearing helmets, 69.9% carried more than two persons and 71.9% did not put on reflective jackets. Conclusion: The majority of the participants had good knowledge, positive attitudes, and good practices of road safety regulations. Keywords: Knowledge, attitude, practice, commercial motorcyclists