Join our webinar: Beyond awareness – improving helmet use among university motorcycle passengers

2nd October 2026

Awareness is high. So why is helmet use still so low?

New research among university students in Kenya has highlighted a striking gap between awareness of road safety risks and consistent helmet use. Join our upcoming webinar to explore the findings and what they could mean for future road safety interventions.

Thursday 15 October 2026
11:00 BST / 13:00 EAT

Motorcycles are an essential part of daily transport for many people in Kenya, providing an accessible and convenient way to travel. However, for those travelling as pillion passengers, consistent helmet use remains worryingly low.

Research involving 325 students at the Multimedia University of Kenya found that fewer than one in ten consistently wear a helmet when travelling as a motorcycle passenger.

Importantly, the findings suggest that low helmet use is not simply the result of a lack of awareness. Students were widely aware of the risks associated with motorcycle travel, yet whether they wore a helmet was often determined by whether the rider provided one, rather than by their own intention to protect themselves.

The research also found that perceptions of risk were shaped more strongly by personal experience of a crash or near miss than by general road safety awareness.

Join the conversation

In our upcoming webinar, we’ll take a closer look at the findings and explore the important gap between knowing the risk and taking protective action.

The discussion will consider the social and practical barriers influencing helmet use among pillion passengers, and what these insights could mean for the design of future road safety interventions.

Whether you work in road safety, transport, public health, research or policy, join us to hear more about the research and its implications.

Register for the webinar here.