Objectives This study investigated the prevalence of subjective symptoms among current and former motorcycling policemen.

Methods The subjects of this study consisted of 46 current and 72 former motorcycling traffic policemen from a certain city located in the central part of Japan. They were requested to reply to questions on a self-administered questionnaire regarding age, work history, and subjective symptoms (16 items) during the month preceding the completion of the questionnaire.

Results Shoulder stiffness and low-back pain were frequently encountered. On the whole, the prevalence of subjective symptoms was higher among the current motorcycling policemen, even though they were younger. Assessing the prevalence of subjective symptoms by the median value of experience of motorcycle riding revealed that the high-exposure subgroup in the group that currently ride motorcycles had higher prevalence rates for all the symptoms.

Conclusions The prevalence of subjective symptoms among the currently motorcycling traffic policemen seems to be transient and it declines after the cessation of motorcycle riding or the reallocation to other worktasks, such as office work.

Key terms cross-sectional study; prevalence; questionnaire