Knowledge, Attitude and Compliance with Safety Protective Devices and Pattern of Injuries Among Commercial Motorcyclists in Tudun-Wada Zaria, North-Western Nigeria

Background
Globally, deaths and injuries from road crashes are a major and growing public health problem. More than 20million people are severely injured or killed on the world’s road yearly and the burden falls most heavily on low income countries. Commercial motorcycling is gaining acceptance by all, as the transport system possesses several features which are adapted to the contemporary Nigerian society. However, many of the commercial motorcycle riders lack proper knowledge on road safety measures as such together with the passengers they carry are exposed to all the hazards of motorcycling.   

Aim

To assess the knowledge, attitude and compliance with safety protective devices and pattern of injuries among commercial motorcyclists in Tudun-wada Zaria Local Government Area 

Methodology

A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out among 250 commercial motorcyclists who were randomly selected using multistage sampling technique in Tudun-Wada ward of Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna state. A pre-tested structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used as the tool for data collection. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 19.0 and Epi-info 6.0

Results

Majority of the respondents (75.6%) did not receive any formal training before commencement of the business. 89.2% have poor knowledge on safety protective devices, while 95.2% have a poor attitude towards it. 86.4% of the respondents have poor compliance with safety protective device. 76.4% of the respondents have been involved in an accident, 68.6% of which occurred 6months preceding the study with lower limbs being the most affected (44.5%).

Conclusion:

The study concludes that commercial motorcycling is essentially done by those who lack adequate basic knowledge on safety protective devices and as such their attitude and compliance with safety protective device is poor. The predominant types of injuries among the motorcyclists were those of the lower limbs, and also, a significant proportion of them sustained multiple injuries.