A roadside observation study of unsafe riding acts among electric bicycle riders in a city of Anhui Province

Objective To understand the prevalence of unsafe riding practice among electric bicycle riders, and to provide scientific basis for intervention strategies in Ma'anshan city of Anhui Province. Methods Observational method was used to observe electric bicycle riders' behavior of running red light, wearing a helmet, and manned act. The radar speed measuring instrument was used to measure the speed of electric bicycle. Results The rate of electric bicycle riders' running red light was 13.09% (1 285/9 815), helmet wearing rate was 5.90% (1 510/25 576), and manned rate was 20.28% (5 187/25 576). The average speed was 24 km/h, and the electric bicycles whose speed were > 20 km/h accounted for 74.60%. There were significant differences in the running red light rate, helmet wearing rate and the average speed of travel among different time periods and dates (all P<0.05). More "running the red light" occurred during 13:30-14:30 and 15:00-16:00. Less "helmet wearing" occurred during 10:00-11:00 and 08:30-09:30. The periods with highest average speed were at 07:00-08:00, 08:30-09:30, 11:30-12:30, and 13:30-14:30, which was 24 km/h. The helmet wearing rate of females (6.54%) was higher than that of males(5.46%), the men's average speed (24 km/h) was higher than women's (23 km/h), and the differences were both statistically significant(all P<0.001). Conclusion The electric bicycle riders in Ma'anshan city of Anhui Province have the dangerous behavior of running red lights, not wearing a helmet, manned act and speeding. Targeted interventions should be taken to reduce the occurrence of related risk behaviors.