Perceived factors associated with boda-boda (motorcycle) accidents in Kampala, Uganda

Objective: According to the United Nations, nearly 1.25 million people are killed and up to 50 million people are injured on the world?s roads every year. Uganda loses about 10 people daily to road accidents, costing about US$1.2 billion annually, which represents about 5% of the gross domestic product (GDP). The objective of this study was to identify causal factors that can be associated with boda-boda accidents in Uganda. Method: A cross sectional study assessed 200 boda-boda riders in the urban areas of Kampala, Uganda. Interviews using semistructured questionnaires were administered to all participants. Data were entered in Excel and imported to STATA for analysis. Multivariate and bivariate analyses were conducted to determine factors that influenced accident risk perception. All variables that were significant at a bivariate level and thought to be theoretically important in influencing the outcome variable were included in a logistic regression model. All tests were performed at a significance of P?Results: Competition for passengers with other public transport operators (83%), negligence of road safety rules (78%), and inadequate helmet usage (62%) were the main factors perceived to be associated with boda-boda accidents. Other factors identified by the respondents include age of the boda-boda rider (58%) and drug use (56%; P?