title: Knowledge, attitudes, and practice of drivers towards traffic regulations in Bandar-Abbas, Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Traffic injuries are among the leading causes of death and disability in many countries. The knowledge, attitudes, and practice of drivers towards traffic regulations are key factors in decreasing traffic injuries and deaths. The objectives of this research were to study the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of taxi drivers towards traffic regulations in Bandar-Abbas, Iran, and to determine the relationships between demographic features and knowledge, attitudes, and practice of taxi drivers towards traffic regulations.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study was done in 2014 in Bandar-Abbas, Iran (Hormozgan Province). To study the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of 241 intra-city taxi drivers towards traffic regulations, researchers developed questionnaires and a checklist. The chi-squared test was performed to determine the relationships between knowledge, attitude, and practice of drivers towards traffic regulations and demographic features.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 241 drivers, 50 of them (20.7%) thought that the seat belt could cause discomfort while driving, and 107 (44.4%) did not wear a seat belt while driving. The study determined that there was a significant difference between the knowledge and work experience of the drivers (p = 0.014). The 94 drivers (43.5%) in the 31-40 year age group had positive attitudes towards traffic regulations (among 216 drivers expressed positive attitudes) and 92 (44.4%) of the drivers in this age group had safe practices towards traffic regulations (among 207 drivers with safe practice).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Many of the taxi drivers in Bandar-Abbas had inadequate knowledge, less positive attitudes, and risky practices towards traffic regulations. Implementation of effective intervention programs may increase the taxi drivers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards traffic regulations.
authors.affiliation: Lecturer of Occupational Health Engineering, Research Center for Social Determinants in Health Promotion, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.
authors.forename: Abdolhamid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tajvar
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mir Saeed
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Yekaninejad
authors.affiliation: Professor of Health Education, Research Center for Social Determinants in Health Promotion, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.
authors.forename: Teamur
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aghamolaei
authors.affiliation: Ph.D. Candidate of Biostatistics, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Soudabeh Hamedi
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Shahraki
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Research Center for Social Determinants in Health Promotion, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.
authors.forename: Abdolhossein
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Madani
authors.affiliation: Ph.D. Candidate of Occupational Health Engineering, Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Omidi
keywords: attitudes; knowledge; practice; taxi drivers; traffic regulations
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