Determinants of active accident involvement among motorcycle couriers in Türkiye: a cross-sectional study

Motorcycle couriers are increasingly central to urban delivery systems, yet they experience disproportionately high rates of traffic-related injuries. Existing research often attributes crash involvement primarily to individual riding behaviours, overlooking the potential influence of employment models, environmental exposure, and physical strain. Evidence distinguishing rider-related errors from systemic working conditions, particularly for active accidents in which the rider is at fault, remains limited.

This cross-sectional study was conducted between June and December 2025 among 372 motorcycle couriers actively working in Ankara, Türkiye. Participants were recruited using a snowball sampling strategy through face-to-face and online networks. Data were collected via an electronic questionnaire capturing sociodemographic characteristics, employment model, working conditions, accident history, psychosocial status (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21), risky riding behaviours (Motorcycle risk-taking behaviour), and musculoskeletal symptoms. Self-reported active accident involvement (defined as at-fault crashes) within the previous 12 months was the primary outcome. Associations were examined using bivariate analyses and multivariable binary logistic regression.

Overall, 79.6% of participants reported at least one active accident in the previous 12 months. Compared with freelance couriers, company-employed (OR = 7.066; 95% CI: 2.104 to 23.727) and self-employed couriers (OR = 2.783; 95% CI: 1.109 to 6.984) had significantly higher odds of active accident involvement. Non-collision falls showed the strongest association with active accident involvement, with four or more falls associated with markedly higher odds of active accident involvement (OR = 12.887; 95% CI: 4.623 to 35.923). Bad weather conditions (OR = 2.049; 95% CI: 1.029 to 4.083) and motorcycle ownership (OR = 5.540; 95% CI: 2.250 to 13.644) also remained significantly associated with active accident involvement, whereas heavy traffic exposure and risky riding behaviour scores did not.

In this sample, active accident involvement was more strongly associated with employment model, non-collision falls, bad weather conditions, and motorcycle ownership than with self-reported risky riding behaviour. These findings should be interpreted cautiously in light of the cross-sectional design, self-reported outcome definition, and non-probability sampling approach.