Rider Risk Factors Associated With Commercial Motorcycle Accidents At Olkalou Sub-County, Nyandarua County

Abstract

Motorcycle injuries have become a public health problem globally, the situation being more severe in low- and middle-income countries where the accidents and injuries reported are twice as high as those in high-income countries. Majority of the motorcycles operate in the rural areas where the industry is largely informal and unregulated. Moreover, there are limited statistics on the nature of crashes, predisposing risk factors and the extent of damage to guide in understand the problem and policy formulation. This study sought to analyze the rider risk factors associated with commercial motorcycle accidents in Olkalou Sub-County, Nyandarua County, Kenya. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey. A sample of 188 motorcycle riders and accident victims and 20 police officers were selected to participate in the study. A questionnaire with structured questions was used to collect data from the commercial motorcyclists while an interview schedule was used to collect data from the traffic police officers, and FGD was used to collect data from motorcycle accident victims in the study. The study established that the risk factors significantly associated with motorcycle accidents include drug and substance abuse, riding at high speed, overloading and failure to observe traffic rules