Mobile Phone Use While Riding

Making and receiving calls while riding was a common practice among boda

boda riders. Majority (56.5%) acknowledged that they made and received calls

sometimes while riding. Thirty four point nine percent reported having never made or received calls while riding; 3.5% percent often did use phone while riding and the remaining 5.1% acknowledged that they always used a phone while riding. Field observations confirmed this practice. Riders talked to

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of the themes emerging from the FGDs was that riders regularly used their

phones while ferrying passengers.This has implications on safety.

Any distraction while riding may result into an accident. Literature, for example, has indicated that motorcycle riding is a complex exercise (Clarke et al., 2004; Hurt et al., 1981). This means that one must be very attentive while riding. But due to the use of mobile phones by riders while riding, a rider could get distracted by an incoming call or he may even want to call for various reasons. This may lead to an accident. (Hurt et al., 1981) observes that lack of attention to the riding task is a common factor for the motorcyclist in an accident. Clark et al., (2004) noted most motorcycle accidents were due to poor observation and/or inattention.

There is limited literature on mobile phone use while riding but according to AFRO factsheet (2013), mobile phone penetration has increased in the African region. That notwithstanding, in a study conducted in 44 countries out of the 46 in the WHO African region, no data was collected on mobile phone use while driving. It was however realized that such data was going to be important for understanding road safety. Sixty one percent of the countries had national laws regulating the use of mobile phones while driving and they prohibit the use of hand-held phones. This data when collected will help better understand the role of mobile phones in road traffic crashes.

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Horswill & Helman (2001) analyzed the behaviour of the motorcyclists and found that motorcyclists chose faster speeds than the car drivers, overtook more, and squeezed into smaller gaps in traffic. In regard to demographics, Chesham et al., (1993) found that young male motorcyclists were at a higher risk of accident involvement than other motorcyclists. He observed that generally, young male riders as a group behaved in a more risky manner than females and older riders and were also worse at hazard perception than older drivers.

In examining the opinions and behaviour of young motorcyclists in New Zealand, Reeder et al., (1996) observed that three broad areas of concern were; the extent and use of protective gear, risky behaviour and how conspicuous the motorcyclist was. He found that there was a difference in rider’s opinion on safety and the actual practice, most riders did not practice what they professed.

Drawing from literature, there is a relationship between bad riding habits and accident involvement. There is need therefore to ensure that those riders desist from bad riding behaviour through road safety campaigns and seminars. The law enforcement officers need to enforce the law especially now that the Traffic Act has been amended to include section 103B in the Traffic Act Cap 403. Road safety has to do with safety knowledge and attitudes among other things.

This tendency towards bad riding habits can be explained or attributed the need for the rider to meet his financial goal for the day, week or month. Since commercial

boda boda riders are under pressure to make profits they may take unnecessary

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themselves as members of a group, thus riders may make risky decisions because the perceived “social norms” legitimizes that behaviour (Broughton, 2005). Mahlstein (2009) indicated that Alalok riders had “bike spirit and they

therefore belonged to a ‘culture.” Konings (2006) on the other hand alleged that Bendskin rider’s referred to themselves as “Kings of the road.”

Attitudes are based on the perceived consequences of behaviour and the likelihood that performing that behaviour will lead to those consequences

(Forward, 2006). When enforcement of traffic laws that forbid certain types of

behaviour does not take place, there is no fear of negative consequences that should be associated with performing that behaviour. When this happens, it is more likely that the rider will perform unsafe actions or behaviour even when they know the consequences. It is also likely that they have not experienced that consequence of risky riding behaviour. Therefore, as much as the boda boda

riders may be aware that risky behaviours have negative consequences, the riders will go ahead and still get involved as explained.

As is manifest in Table 22 of this study, most boda boda riders engaged in bad

riding practices at one time or the other. The ‘not at all’ category had a percentage cell representative of 28.87%. The ‘sometimes’ category had a percentage cell representative of 36.07%. The ‘often’ category had a percentage cell representative of 21.22% and finally the ‘always’ category had a percentage cell representative of 13.78%. When the percentage cell representative of sometimes, often and always categories, are summed up, about 71. % of the

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respondents interviewed had engaged in bad riding practices at some point in their work. Only about 29% claimed to have never engaged in bad riding behaviours or practices. This indicates that majority (71%) of riders engage in bad riding practices / behaviour.