Unsafe Riding Behavior Among Adolescent Electric Bicycle Users in Semarang City

Abstract

The use of electric bicycles among adolescents has increased along with their growing popularity as an alternative mode of transportation. However, this trend raises concerns regarding riding safety. This study aimed to describe the riding behavior of adolescent electric bicycle users and to analyze the association between unsafe riding behavior with traffic incident history. Unsafe riding behavior was assessed based on speeding, helmet use, mobile phone use while riding, adult supervision, and riding in motor vehicle lanes. A quantitative descriptive-analytic study with a cross-sectional design was conducted in Semarang City. A total of 35 adolescent electric bicycle users were recruited using accidental sampling. Data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using univariate analysis and fisher’s exact test. The results showed that more than half of respondents rode at speeds exceeding 25 km/h (54.3%), the majority did not use helmets (80.0%), frequently rode in motor vehicle lanes (74.2%), and were not consistently accompanied by adults. The mean riding speed was 30.03 km/h, with a maximum speed of 45 km/h. Regarding safety outcomes, 22.9% of respondents reported having experienced an accident, while 17.1% reported near-miss incidents. Unsafe riding practices were common among adolescent electric bicycle users in Semarang City. These findings suggest the importance of strengthening safety education and improving compliance with existing regulations governing electric bicycle use.