Factors Contributing to Crash Involvement of Unlicensed Motorcycle Riders in Malaysia

Despite the various interventions carried out to reduce the number of road crashes and injuries involving motorcycle riders, unlicensed riding remains a growing road safety concern in Malaysia. Thus, the current study was embarked upon to identify the general trends and to assess the factors contributing to the high involvement of unlicensed motorcycle riders who were fatally injured in road crashes. The results indicated that about one-fifth of the total casualties involved were unlicensed motorcycle riders and the proportion would be higher if the statistics of the unknown cases was included. The results also revealed that, when compared with licensed motorcycle riders, relatively high proportion of unlicensed motorcycle riders were young (69%), did not wear safety helmets (33%), involved in crashes which occurred at night (39%) and in rural areas (79.1%). These findings suggested that unlicensed motorcycle riders were predominantly young which can be considered as novice and inexperienced, and were more likely to engage in risky riding behaviors. Potential intervention activities and future research are discussed as well.