Initial age of unlicensed motorcycling experience for a cohort of high school students

The aim of this study is to use retrospective data to examine the initial age of unlicensed motorcycling experience for a cohort of senior high school students in Taiwan. The life-table method was applied to estimate the probability of unlicensed motorcycling at different age intervals below the minimum licensing age. The results indicated that an increase in the prevalence of unlicensed teenage motorcycling began at 10 years of age and peaked in the ages between 16 and 17 years. Only 38% of students had no motorcycle riding experience when they reached the minimum licensing age of 18 years. Gender and parental attitude were the factors that had a significant influence on the initial motorcycling age. In addition, we observed a significant difference between licensed and unlicensed students in the following areas: parental attitude, proportion of students using borrowed motorcycles, and riding and accident frequency. The results reveal a number of important implications, such as the promotion of alternative modes of transport, increased parental monitoring, and penalty enhancement, that may help to suppress the tendency of teenagers' unlicensed motorcycling.