more than 3000 people die each day on the roads and tens of millions sustain nonfatal injuries ( 2 , 4 , 5 ) . road traffic systems are dangerous systems that people deal with on a daily basis ( 6 ) . in this dangerous and complex system , motorcycle drivers are a priority group to protect from injuries and death in traffic accidents in iran ( 7 ) and other countries ( 810 ) . the world health organization reported that , on busy roads , motorcyclists and pedestrians are particularly susceptible to traffic injuries ( 11 ) . driving a motorcycle is related to the high risk of death and injury ( 12 , 13 ) , and , in many countries , the number of injured or killed during motorcycle and bicycle riding is rapidly rising ( 14 ) . the risk of death for two - wheel drivers is higher than that in automobiles ( 15 ) . results of a self - reported cross - sectional study revealed that motorcycle riders with a history of injuries were less likely to wear helmets or any other protective equipment ( 17 ) . therefore , it is suggested to conduct more studies to understand these behaviors , find ways for its modification , and to evaluate the effectiveness of current policies ( 18 ) . it is believed that there are enormous gaps in the researches about behavioral theories and models applied to unintentional injury prevention ( 19 ) . increasing knowledge about motorcyclists accident - related risk behaviors is thus an important way to set goals in designing intervention programs and improving road safety . a qualitative study , which was conducted in iran , indicated that there are seven injury - related risk behaviors among motorcyclists , including performing stunts in the street , disobeying traffic rules , riding after drug or alcohol use , riding without qualifications , not using a helmet while riding a motorcycle , illegally transporting pillion passengers , and transporting cargo ( 7 ) . previous studies suggest that it could be useful to indicate the behavioral determinants that increase people s vulnerability to injuries . such information is likely to shed light on the cause of road traffic injuries among motorcyclists ( 20 ) . previous studies have shown that accidents mostly happen to those who previously experienced them , and who reported that nearly a quarter of the victims of road traffic accidents requiring admission to a hospital have suffered a traumatic head injury ( 11 ) . a motorcycle driver s license and other safe behaviors should be enforced under stronger regulations ( 19 , 21 ) . in iran , obeying the current traffic laws , including helmet wearing and having a motorcycle driver s license , is mandatory for all motorcyclists ( 22 ) , but the prevalence of voluntary helmet use is low ( 23 ) . a study by paravar et al . showed just 3.1% of injured motorcyclists had used a helmet ( 4 ) and most road traffic injuries among motorcyclists are caused by preventable factors . it is seen that law enforcement and punishment or fear of receiving a fine do not always result in corrected behavior ( 22 ) ; some studies have shown that accidents mostly happen to those who had a previous experience . thus , which risk behaviors were enacted by riders whose motorcycles have been confiscated by police officers and have paid fines and penalties for the second or third time ? this study was carried out to address the risk behaviors among motorcycle riders who attempted offenses and their motorcycles had been re - confiscated by police officers . this cross - sectional study was conducted to describe injury - related risk behaviors among motorcyclists whose motorcycles were confiscated by police officers in ahvaz ( a city in the south of iran ) from december 2010 to february 2011 . the inclusion criteria were : 1 ) riding while police have booked their motorcycle ; 2 ) the motorcycle had been booked previously at least one time ; 3 ) the motorcycle had been booked no more than two days prior to interviews ; 4 ) being literate ( to be able to read and write ) ; and 5 ) being interested in participating in the study . in the mazloomy study ( 24 ) , the prevalence of risky behavior ( lack of helmet use ) was p=0.1 , =0.5 , and d=0.4 . those who were discharged with their motorcycle , after coordination with the police and obtaining verbal consent , were interviewed . based on a previous qualitative research ( 7 ) , a questionnaire , which included items regarding risk behaviors , the risk behaviors were : 1 ) not wearing a helmet ; 2 ) performing stunts ; 3 ) disobeying traffic rules , including moving in the opposite direction of street , passing without obeying traffic lights , and riding with exceeding the speed limit ; 4 ) illegally transporting passengers ; 5 ) illegally transporting cargo ; and 6 ) riding a damaged motorcycle . the behaviors were measured using five - point scales ( always , often , sometimes , seldom , and never ) . regarding the research ethics , the motorcycle clearance center and police center of ahvaz approved the study to provide opportunities for the informed choices ; one of us ( nn ) explained the study objectives to the motorcyclists and those who volunteered for the study . the mean age of the motorcyclists was 29.33 ( sd=8.26 ) years ( ranging from 16 to 59 ) and 62.1% ( n=149 ) were married . sixty - two riders ( 25.8% ) did not have a driver s license and 82 riders ( 35% ) were not the owners of the booked motorcycles , but they were arrested while riding them . thirty - five percent of motorcyclists had at least one motorcycle accident in the recent year ( table 1 ) . overall , 60.8% of riders reported that they passed traffic lights without considering the traffic red light during the recent week . only 14.2% ( n=34 ) of riders reported that they did not ride a motorcycle without using a helmet . more than 20% performed stunts , including wheel spins and wheel stands , during the recent weeks . more than 95% of motorcyclists reported that they illegally transported passengers and , similarly , more than 87% reported that they illegally transported cargo . the mean age of the motorcyclists was 29.33 ( sd=8.26 ) years ( ranging from 16 to 59 ) and 62.1% ( n=149 ) were married . sixty - two riders ( 25.8% ) did not have a driver s license and 82 riders ( 35% ) were not the owners of the booked motorcycles , but they were arrested while riding them . thirty - five percent of motorcyclists had at least one motorcycle accident in the recent year ( table 1 ) . overall , 60.8% of riders reported that they passed traffic lights without considering the traffic red light during the recent week . only 14.2% ( n=34 ) of riders reported that they did not ride a motorcycle without using a helmet . more than 20% performed stunts , including wheel spins and wheel stands , during the recent weeks . more than 95% of motorcyclists reported that they illegally transported passengers and , similarly , more than 87% reported that they illegally transported cargo . the findings indicate that some riders were in their thirties and , in fact , were not joy riders , as typically seen in teenagers . people in this age group , generally , are married and responsible for caring for a family ; thus , severe injuries and deaths among this population might cause extra costs and burdens to families and the community ( 23 , 25 ) . younger motorcyclists believed that risky riding is a way to achieve enjoyment and increase the attention and acclamation of their friends ( 26 ) . this study shows that 35% of riders did not have a driver s license . in a cross - sectional study on 299 commercial motorcyclists in igboora , mean age was 27.4  7.4 years and 61.2% had a driver s license ( 27 ) . it seems that not only do traffic police take this problem seriously but that family members should be educated by public media to prevent loved ones from riding a motorcycle without having the proper license . passing the cross roads without considering the red light perhaps the police should take more responsibility to tackle this problem because this usually happens in front of police . the iranian parliament approved a new bill for two - wheel drivers , which mandated using standard helmets . the finding from this study indicated that police confiscated 85% of riders because they were still not using a helmet . in some studies , all ( 100% ) motorcyclists did not use any helmet ( 27 ) . in a previous study in iran , only 10% of motorcyclists used a standard helmet ( 28 ) . however , unhelmeted motorcyclists are more likely to suffer fatal head trauma than helmeted riders when involved in a road traffic accident ( 26 ) . the results also demonstrated that 70% of riders had performed stunts during the week before the study . stunt behaviors such as wheel spins and wheel stands usually are seen among teenagers or youngsters , but , in this study , even married adults performed such behaviors . it seems we need more investigations to find out what really causes riders perform these behaviors . as suggested , the enormous gaps exist in the research on the behavior theories and models applied to prevent the risks ( 19 ) . studies have shown that two - wheel drivers face higher risks of death and injury ( 12 , 13 ) and some riders not only put themselves at risk but others , particularly pedestrians ( 11 , 16 ) . overall results of this study showed that not using a standard helmet , passing red lights , not having a driver s license , wheel spinning and wheel standing , riding in the opposite direction , illegally transport passengers and cargos , riding and exceeding the speed limit are the main risk behaviors among riders whose motorcycles were confiscated by police . while a descriptive study may limit the identity of factors related to risk behaviors , in this paper , researchers were not aiming to identify a list of reasons that could influence behaviors of motorcyclists , as is the case in analytical or interventional research . instead , the goal of the present study is to gain an understanding of the frequency of risk behaviors among offending motorcyclists . the findings in this study indicate that risk behaviors among motorcyclists are relatively high . for preventing risk behaviors and related traffic injuries , further studies are needed in order to identify the causes of these behaviors among iranian motorcyclists . findings of studies in other communities could not be used directly in iran because each country has its own problems in traffic culture , as noted by zkan ( 29 ) . indeed , designing community - based health education interventions seem necessary to prevent risk of injuries and deaths among this population .
introductionroad traffic accidents are among the most critical public health issues . 
 many people die on the roads each day and tens of millions sustain nonfatal injuries . 
 the aim of this study is to describe the high - risk behaviors of motorcyclists in which police had to confiscate their motorcycles.methodsthis cross - sectional study was carried out on 240 motorcyclists in iran from december 2010 to february 2011 . 
 a researcher - created questionnaire was used to collect data on self - reported high - risk behaviors , including passing the crossroads without considering the traffic light , refusing to wear a helmet , performing stunts in the street , and driving in the opposite direction . 
 the collected data was descriptively analyzed.resultsthe mean age of motorcyclists was 29.3 years ( sd=8.26 ) . 
 twenty - six percent ( n=62 ) of the participants did not have a motorcycle driver s license . 
 the analysis of risk behaviors showed that 60.8% ( n=146 ) of the motorcycle drivers usually passed crossroads without considering the traffic light and 20.8% ( n=50 ) performed stunts in the street.conclusionsthis study indicates that the prevalence of high - risk behaviors among motorcyclists is significant . 
 health education interventions may inhibit these behaviors , thus reducing the risk of injuries .