Background: Motorcycle accidents form a fatal category of motor traffic accidents. Motorcycle riders have a 34 times risk of death than the drivers of other types of vehicles and 8 times more likely to be injured. The non-use of helmet is a specific factor leading to head injuries and fatalities resulting from motorcycle crashes.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the commercial motorcyclists‟ attitude and their practices of helmet wearing. The specific objectives were to determine the following among commercial motorcyclists in Dar es Salaam region: attitude of helmet use, proportion of commercial motorcyclists who wear helmet and the practice of helmet use.
Material and methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in urban and peri-urban areas of Dar es Salaam region in May, 2011 at randomly selected commercial motorcycle parking points. A total of 273 conveniently selected eligible commercial motorcyclists participated. Face-to-face interviews were performed using a standard questionnaire while observation was conducted using an observation checklist. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16.0.