Tanzania is experiencing rapid urbanization as it is in other African countries. Most of the increase in urban population is occurring in small- and medium-sized cities (Güneralp et al., 2018; Sohal et al., 2022). With rapid urbanization, several challenges including unemployment and the transportation needs of citizens are unavoidable (Nzuchi et al., 2022). Thus, in efforts to overcome this, commercial use of motorcycles, commonly referred to as bodaboda, has become a common means of transport and source of employment in many parts of Tanzania (Moshy et al., 2020; Owibingire et al., 2018). The popularity of ‘bodaboda’ has partly been due to its fast nature and easy navigation within poorly planned urban road networks and its low cost of maintenance (Agbor et al., 2014; Ndagire et al., 2019; Owibingire et al., 2018).

It had been estimated that between 2003 and 2016, almost 1.2 million motorcycles were registered in Tanzania, with the number expected to increase yearly (Luambano, 2020). An increase in the number of motorcycles in Tanzania has led to a rise in motorcycle crashes (MCC), thus, responsible for a significant number of motor vehicle crash-related hospital admissions and deaths each year (Nzuchi et al., 2022). As cited by Salum et al. (2019), the traffic police reports in Tanzania in 2016 showed that motorcycle crashes were the leading cause of fatalities (27.5%) and injuries (26.4%) compared to other modes of transportation. Considering this, motorcycle crash injuries are considered an epidemic for the current society, thus a public health concern (Moshy et al., 2020).

To reduce the number of motor traffic crashes in Tanzania, the government has put forward several strategies. These include improvement in the traffic environment, and provision of education and reliable information to the road users, especially drivers. Yet still, the country experiences MCCs (Moshy et al., 2020; Nzuchi et al., 2022). Moreover, motorcycle riders are responsible for the majority of Motor Traffic Crash (MTC) related injuries and deaths (Raga et al., 2023).

Several studies investigating factors associated with the risk of motorcycle crashes have pointed to rider characteristics, riding behavior, riding conditions, and riding experience (Möller et al., 2020; Raga et al., 2023). Recent reports from Tanzania have depicted that only 39.7% of commercial motorcyclists reported having a good level of compliance with road safety measures (Nzuchi et al., 2022). A previous study noted that there is no strict enforcement of existing traffic laws such as the inspection and verification of driving licenses due to police corruption (Nguyen et al., 2018). Such findings call for a need to understand the readiness of motorcyclists to practice various preventive measures against MCC. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to assess the commercial motorcyclists' current level of awareness and practices related to risk factors and preventive measures for motorcycle crashes. This study was anticipated to give baseline information on the subject of concern and hence aid in influencing policies regarding commercial motorcyclists in Mbeya and Tanzania in general. The policies should target commercial motorcyclists' behaviors and education by planning the best approaches to implement various strategies to reduce MCC in the country. The present study was conducted to determine commercial motorcyclists' awareness and practices regarding motorcycle crash-related risk factors and protective measures in Mbeya, Tanzania.

Whereas motorcycles are being used for recreation in most developed countries, in Africa, they are among the most common means of transportation, especially as commercial public transport (Moshy et al., 2020; Oginni et al., 2007; Owibingire et al., 2018). With rapid urbanization and an increase in the rate of unemployment, most young individuals resort to riding motorbikes for commercial purposes, thus, raising in number of motorcycles on streets. Considering commercial motorcyclists are very vulnerable to motorcycle crash injuries (Rahman et al., 2015), it is of utmost importance that they observe various protective measures against road traffic crashes. In determining an individual's readiness to comply with anything, it is fundamental to assess their awareness and practices about that particular matter (Sohal et al., 2022). Hence, the current study adds to the growing literature by reporting on the awareness and practices of commercial motorcyclists regarding motorcycle crash-related risk factors and protective measures in Tanzania.

Similar to studies from various parts of Africa (Konlan et al., 2020; Luambano, 2020; Ndagire et al., 2019; Nguyen et al., 2018; Nzuchi et al., 2022; Oginni et al., 2007), in this survey majority of participants were educated, male, and young. The participants' rather young age and high education level may lead to the speculation that the unemployment rate is high in the country to the point that most veer off into commercial motorcycling. However, it is also possible that with rising living costs in the cities, others took the ‘bodaboda’ job as a supplementary source of income from other vocations (Oginni et al., 2007). In this study, almost all commercial motorcyclists were male, which may be attributed to the sociocultural gender-defined activities. In most African cultures males are providers and caretakers of the family, hence traveling on the road as commercial motorcyclists while women are often restrained to their houses to take care of household chores and other family responsibilities (Luambano, 2020; Moshy et al., 2020).

The current study's findings revealed that only 18% of commercial motorcyclists had undertaken formal training on how to ride a motorbike. In addition to that, a majority had trained for less than two weeks and started riding as commercial motorcyclists within 1 week of training. Moreover, the data show that most commercial motorcyclists had less than 2 years of experience, which is in line with previous reports from Tanzania (Nguyen et al., 2018; Nzuchi et al., 2022) and Ethiopia (Raga et al., 2023). Furthermore, about 1/3 of the commercial motorcyclists did not possess a valid driving license, which is higher than findings from Ethiopia (Raga et al., 2023). Such findings are worrisome since they point to the fact that most commercial motorcyclists are inexperienced when they start working. Research has shown that inexperienced riders tend to overestimate their riding ability and are slower to recognize and respond to potential hazards (Nguyen et al., 2018), thus, are vulnerable to motor traffic crashes (Möller et al., 2020), as augmented by the findings of this study, that positive history of MCC was more common among commercial motorcyclists without formal training. The high number of inexperienced commercial motorcyclists on the streets may contribute to an increase in rates of road traffic crashes thereby endangering not only their lives but the lives of their customers as well.

The finding from the current survey that almost three-quarters of the commercial motorcyclists were not formally trained and about a third possessed no driving license may point out that though the laws and regulations for traffic safety are in place in the country, they are not implemented seriously by the authority especially when it comes to motorcyclists.

It is encouraging to report that most majority of commercial motorcyclists in this study had a high level of awareness regarding various risk factors for, and preventive measures against motorcycle crashes. This was in agreement with the previous study from Tanzania (Nzuchi et al., 2022). The odds of having a high level of awareness regarding motorcycle crash-related risk factors and protective measures were determined by years of experience as a commercial motorcyclist, mode of training, and history of motorcycle crashes. It is plausible that riders who attended a formal institute had been taught various aspects of road safety measures as part of their training curriculum, and likewise, the riders who had little experience, must have the information regarding road safety fresh in the back of their minds. Riders who had a positive history of motorcycle crashes may attribute their increased odds of increased levels of awareness to the negative experience. Having a negative experience of a crash might have influenced the riders to learn from their mistakes in an effort of avoiding another incidence of a crash in the future, thereby increasing awareness.

In this study, good practice against motorcycle-related crash risk factors and preventive measures was noted in slightly less than half of the participants, similar to findings by Nzuchi et al. (2022) and Oginni et al. (2007). Though the results were not very satisfying, still were higher than those reported by Nzuchi et al. (2022) and Afelumo et al. (2021). Most commonly practiced risky behaviors included overtaking more than 1 vehicle at a time, overworking, and using mobile phones while riding. As pointed out correctly by Nguyen et al. (2018), most commercial motorcyclists work longer hours for monetary gains. The long working hours put them at risk for exhaustion and stress (physical and mental). Exhaustion due to sleep deprivation can lead to variability in riding speed and poor judgment (Du et al., 2015), which when coupled with the risky behavior of overtaking more than one vehicle at a time increases the chances of being involved in road traffic crashes.

Though it is believed that having good knowledge and awareness does not necessarily warrant good practice (Singh et al., 2022), the results of this study pointed out otherwise. The odds of good practice were nearly 2 times higher among individuals who had higher levels of awareness regarding motorcycle crash-related risk factors and safety measures, such findings support the idea of necessitating training for commercial motorcyclists regarding road safety.

This study has some limitations which should be acknowledged when evaluating the results. First, the survey was carried out during day time among active boda boda drivers. As such, we might have missed some commercial motorcyclists who start working during the evening and night hours. This might have an intrinsic bias in self-reporting practices such as the use of alcohol during work hours and riding speed. Secondly, data collected from commercial motorcyclists were based on self-reports and there is a very low chance of bias. Even in light of this, the results from this study carry valuable information about the awareness and practices of commercial motorcyclists in Tanzania on issues about road safety.

The findings of this study depict that most commercial motorcyclists have a good level of awareness regarding motorcycle crash-related risk factors and protective measures. However, their practices regarding motorcycle crash-related risk factors and protective measures were not satisfactory. Determinants of the high level of awareness were working experience, mode of training, possession of a driving license, and previous history of motor traffic crashes. Good practice was determined by the level of awareness regarding risk factors for motorcycle crashes and the education level of the commercial motorcyclist.

From the findings of this study, we suggest that the government institutes should have more vocational training institutes that train safe motorcycle riding at affordable fees. The road safety authorities should ensure road safety measures apply to all motor vehicles as currently commercial motorcyclists are often overlooked by traffic officers. It is also recommended that government and non-government institutions should put deliberate efforts into organizing frequent road safety awareness education sessions directed towards commercial motorcyclists through different media (e.g. social media, televisions, radios, etc.).

Authors declare that no conflicts of interest exist.

This study did not receive funding from private, government, or non-for-profit organizations.

Ethical clearance was sought from the MUHAS research and ethics committee (Ref. No.DA.25/111/01). Permission for data collection was sought from the local government authorities of Mbeya city and the leadership of the commercial motorcyclist union. Only those participants who freely gave written consent to participate were included in the study. All information gathered was handled confidentially and refusal to participate or withdraw from the study did not result in any consequence. Personal information such as name of the commercial motorcyclist and the area where they conduted their business was not collected.

Data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article and can be requested from the corresponding author.