Determinants of Helmet and Seat Belt Use Awareness Among Bangladeshi Motorists: A Bayesian Network Approach

抄録

Incidents of violation of helmet and seat belt rules are predominant in developing countries. To identify the determinants of helmet and seat belt use, interviews with 898 motorcycle riders and 627 vehicle drivers were conducted across 32 highway intersections in Bangladesh. The collected data was fitted into Bayesian Network models and probabilistic inferences were made. Results showed that riders not wearing helmets have lower educational qualifications and higher previous accident records. Education level, motorbike ownership, safety awareness, and helmet avoidance tendency highly influenced helmet-wearing decisions. Similarly, drivers not wearing seat belt had a higher probability of owning a non-professional driving license, driving a personal car, being less educated, and believed that wearing seat belt can’t reduce accidents. Seat belt wearing was significantly influenced by license type, car ownership, education level, faith in the effectiveness of seat belt, and perception of injury for not wearing seat belt.