Self-reported cycling behavior and previous history of traffic accidents of cyclists.

BACKGROUND: Cyclists are vulnerable traffic users and studying the cycling behavior of professional and elite cyclists, their previous history of traffic accidents combined with the current knowledge on high-risk behaviors of this group can be a useful basis for further studies on ordinary cyclists. This study aimed to determine the relationship between cycling behavior and the previous history of traffic accidents among members of the Cycling Federation of Guilan province in 2022. METHODS: A descriptive-analytical study was performed in which the Bicycle Rider Behavior Questionnaire (BRBQ) constructed in the Porsline platform was distributed using the WhatsApp social network. All participants were asked to self-report their cycling behavior. The final analysis was performed by using STATA software (version 14). RESULTS: The study subjects included a total of 109 cyclists with a mean age of 38.62 ± 10.94 years and a mean cycling experience of 13.75 ± 11.08 years. Using the logistic regression model, the relationship between gender (P = 0.039), years of cycling experience (P = 0.000), and education level (P ≤ 0.00), with previous traffic accidents, was found significant. There was also a significant relationship between stunts and distractions (P = 0.005), signaling violation (P = 0.000), and control error (P = 0.011) with previous traffic accidents. A significant association existed between stunts and distractions (P = 0.001) and signaling violation (P = 0.001) with a previous history of traffic injury within the last 3 years. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study can be used to establish cyclist safety and preventative planning in society. In behavior change intervention programs, it is best to target male cyclists with higher-level education. In addition, the behavior of the cyclists whose predominant term of signaling violations must be corrected should be targeted. It is necessary to shape information campaigns and educational programs aimed for cyclists with common high-risk behaviors, especially signaling violations.

Fatigue in taxi drivers and its relationship with traffic accident history and experiences: a cross-sectional study in the north of Iran.

BACKGROUND: The monotonous nature of work, long driving duration, and working overload hours cause frequent fatigue in taxi drivers. A high prevalence of fatigue is associated with traffic accidents. However, the risk factors associated with taxi driver fatigue are unclear. Therefore, the present study aims to determine the rate of fatigue in taxi drivers and its relationship to their traffic accident experience. METHODS: In this descriptive-analytical study, 400 taxi drivers in the city of Rasht were registered in Taxi association selected through random sampling and entered into the study based on inclusion criteria. Data was collected through a researcher-made questionnaire reliable and valid by two medical students. The statistical analysis used ordinal data and a Poisson regression model with SPSS software version 21, with a significance level set at 5%. RESULTS: The driver fatigue self-reported was directly and significantly related to alcohol consumption (OR = 3.43, 95% CI 1.01-11.62) and had a significant and inverse relationship with smoking (OR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.32-0.76), being married (OR = 0.08, 95% CI 0.01-0.40) and driving experience there was (OR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.94-0.98). Drivers' sense of quality of life (QOL) was directly and significantly related to smoking (IRR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.28-1.59), education level under diploma (IRR = 2.41, 95% CI 1.43-4.06) diploma (IRR = 2.06, 95% CI 1.21-3.48) and bachelor (IRR = 2.42, 95% CI 1.36-4.29) and there was a significant and inverse relationship with age (IRR = 0.98, 95%CI 0.98-0.99). There was a significant relationship between the number of traffic accidents in the past year with the level of bachelor's degree (IRR = 3.10, 95% CI 1.43-6.76) and driving experience (IRR = 1.03, 95% CI 1.02-1.04 and inverse relationship between the number of traffic accidents in the past year and the QOL sense (IRR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.93-0.99) and the working hours (IRR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.94-0.99). CONCLUSION: Legislators and policymakers should pay more attention to fatigue in single and inexperienced taxi drivers. Regarding the QOL, pay attention to drivers with high education and older. To reduce the number of crashes, pay more attention to drivers with a bachelor's degree and less driving experience and improve the feeling of QOL.