Awareness and Attitudes toward the Safety of Motorcyclists: A Training Approach, 2016

Introduction: Due to the high level of vulnerability, motorcyclists are considered a priority for research and intervention. Therefore, this study aimed to improve the society’s awareness and attitudes toward motorcycle traffic safety. Method: This study involved a randomized clinical trial conducted in 2016 among trauma patients and their caregivers in Shahid Rajaee hospital, Shiraz. Block randomization was used to divided the patients into study and control groups. Data collection was done using a researcher-made questionnaire called “Awareness & Attitude associated with Motorcycle Traffic Safety”; the questionnaire was found reliable with a Cronbach’s alpha of 78%. We made use of a pairwise T-test to make our intergroup comparisons; in cases of non-normal data, a non-parametric alternative was employed. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to study the inter-variable relationships. Results: Participants included 276 patients, 138 in each group. Generally, 72.7% of the population consisted of males and the rest were females. The participants had a mean age of 31.38±10.46 years. Our pairwise T-test in the case group revealed a significant difference in attitudes and awareness of the subjects before and after the intervention (P<0.001). The oneway ANOVA indicated the influence of marital status on the level of awareness after training. Furthermore, training had the highest impact on the age-group of 47-62 years old. Conclusion: Training would lead to increased awareness and improved attitudes in society toward motorcycle traffic safety, and would indirectly be an effective step toward improvement of traffic culture and reduction of road traffic accidents (RTA).