Investigation of motorcycle driving behavior and its related factors in 2016 – Sarbaz -Sistan & Baluchestan province

Background: traffic accidents are one of the most important public health problems. Thepurpose of this study was to investigate the driving behavior of motorcyclists and theirrelated factors.Methods: This retrospective study was performed in 2016 on a convenience samplingmotorcycle riders aged 18 years and over who had lived in the military for at least 5 yearsand had used motorcycles for the past year in sarbaz province. To collect data from generalchecklists, MRBQ-48, GHQ-28 and Zuckerman Questionnaire used. All analyses wereperformed in SPSS 19.Results: A total of 234 motorcyclists with a mean age of 26.7 years old and a standarddeviation of 7.09 participated in this study. 36.1% of participants had motorcycle accidentsduring the past 12 months. The mean score of driving behavior, mental health and emotionseeking were 96.79, 54.00 and 21.33, respectively. Traffic Error score with mean of 23.90and standard deviation of 8.06 and major depression with mean of 17.47 and standarddeviation of 4.07 were higher than other aspects of driving behavior and mental health.Motorcycle driving behavior scores were significantly correlated with smoking, alcohol,cannabis, methadone and heroin use in the past year. There was a significant correlationbetween driving behavior score and mental health, but there was no significant correlationbetween driving behavior and sensation seeking score.Coclusion: Accident reduction strategies include raising the level of general knowledge,about proper driving behaviors and the serious and consistent enforcement of traffic laws andregulations.