Background About 1.35 million deaths and around 50 million injuries are attributed to road traffic crashes every year in the world. In Ethiopia, road traffic crashes contributed to a fatality rate of 37 per 100,000 populations per year, and 83% of traffic crashes were attributed to risky driving behavior. This study aimed to explore perceptions related to risky driving behavior among public transport vehicle drivers in Debre Markos City, North West Ethiopia, in 2021. Methods A generic qualitative study was conducted from August 05– September 15, 2021. A total of 17 participants (10 drivers, 4 drivers’ training school instructors, and 3 traffic police officers) were selected by a purposive heterogeneous sampling technique. An open-ended interview guide was used during the interview, and all interviews were audio recorded. Data collected in the local language was transcribed verbatim and translated into English. The ATLAS-TI version 7.5 software was used to code the data, and finally, thematic analysis was done. Result Four themes were identified. The first theme was “transport safety rule and enforcement problem,” which includes gaps in the transport safety rule itself and gaps in the implementation of the rule. The second theme was “Drivers’ training curriculum and application gaps,” which focuses on gaps in the training curriculum and its application during recruitment, training, and examination of trainees. The third theme was “technical and financial problems”. This theme includes problems related to the vehicles’ technical issues and the appropriateness of transport tariffs. The final theme was “passenger and vehicle owners’ related problems”. This theme is about the influence of passengers’ and vehicle owners’ practices on drivers’ risky driving behavior. Conclusion Revising transport safety rules and strictly following the implementation of the drivers’ training curriculum and transport safety rules should be given due attention. In addition, behavior change communications tailored to drivers and vehicle owners could be beneficial in reducing risky driving behaviors.

Introduction. Public perceptions of pandemic risk and prevention measures influence adherence to COVID-19 prevention efforts. Even though several factors influence public perceptions, there has been no research on the predictors of COVID-19-related perception in Ethiopia and there are few articles among academic staff worldwide. Thus, this study aims to assess predictors of COVID-19-related perception among Gondar University academic staff. Method. Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 10 to May 10, 2021. Daniel Soper’s calculator was used to determine the sample size. A simple random sampling technique was employed. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using Stata V14. Structural equation modeling was performed to identify determinants of COVID-19 related perception. A p value less than 0.05 and a 95% confidence interval of β were used to declare the statistical significance of the variables. Result. A total of 602 academic staff participated. Mean age of participants was 32.38 (±5.83) years. Family size (β = 0.12), chronic illness (β = −0.19), knowledge (β = 0.11), and cues to action (β = 0.43) were significantly associated with perceived susceptibility. Similarly, educational status (β = −0.11), perceived susceptibility (β = 0.61), and cues to action (β = 0.13) were significantly associated with perceived severity. Likewise, knowledge (β = 0.11) and cues to action (β = 0.62) were significant predictors of self-efficacy. Correspondingly, knowledge (β = 0.23), chronic illness (β = 0.09), profession (β = −0.09), perceived susceptibility (β = 0.19), perceived severity (β = 0.23), and self-efficacy (β = 0.29) were significant predictors of perceived benefit. Similarly, age (β = −0.18), profession (β = 0.10), and perceived susceptibility (β = −0.39) were significantly associated with perceived barriers. Conclusion. Several sociodemographic and other factors affect COVID-19 related perceptions. Intervention should consider those factors to improve COVID-19 prevention practice.