Identifying Psychological and Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Motorcycle Helmet-Use

Sixty percent of motorcyclist fatalities in traffic accidents of Iran are due to head injuries, but helmet-use is low, despite it being a legal requirement. This study used face-to-face interviews to investigate the factors associated with helmet-use among motorcycle riders in Mashhad city, the second largest city in Iran. PCA and CFA were used for data reduction and identification of consistent features of the data. Ordered and multinomial logit analysis were applied to quantify the influences on helmet user. According to the statements of motorcyclist,s rate of helmet-use is 47 percent, but in 14 percent of cases helmets were not used properly. In addition, 5 percent of motorcyclists believed in malicious impact of helmets on their safety. Duration of daily trips with motorcycle, riding experience and type of job were affecting helmet-use behavior.