Skip to main content

Motorcycle Crashes: Attitudes of the Motorcyclists Regarding Riders’ Experience and Safety Measures

Journal of Community Health volume 39, pages 1222–1230 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

Motorcycle injuries constitute a major but neglected emerging public health problem in developing countries and contribute significantly to the overall road traffic injuries. The aims of this work were to study the attitudes and practices of the motorcyclists regarding training and safety measures, and to determine some underlying factors of motorcycle crashes. This cross sectional hospital based study was conducted on all injured conscious motorcyclists who were admitted to the emergency department at Benha University Hospital, Benha City, Qalubia governorate, Egypt from December 2012 up to December 2013. The data were collected using a standard interview questionnaire which included four main sections; personal data, data about the rider’s experience and training, safety issues and data about the crash the motorcyclist involved in. The questionnaire was completed by 246 motorcyclists. Of these, 67.5 % did not have a motor cycle license and friends/family were the source of training for 56.9 % of them. There were highly significant associations between the source of training and age, education, occupation and marital status (P < 0.001 for all). Correctly positioning the motorcycle according to road conditions, making one visible to other road users and the proper maintenance of the motorcycle were the most commonly reported safety measures. Inattentive mode, suffering stress on the day of the accident, not paying attention to distances or to the regulations, not being familiar with the road of the accident and not using the protection system were some of the underlying factors of motorcycle accidents.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

43,34 €

Price includes VAT (Finland)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

References

  1. World Health organization. (2004). World report on road traffic injury prevention. Geneva: WHO.

    Google Scholar 

  2. World Health organization. (2011). Saving millions of lives. Decade of action for road safety 2011–2020. Geneva: WHO.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Global Road Safety Partnership. (2008). Speed management: A road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners. Geneva: Global Road Safety Partnership.

  4. Vafaee-Najar, A., Esmaeili, H., Ibrahimipour, H., et al. (2010). Motorcycle fatal accidents in Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran. Iranian Journal of Public Health, 39, 95–101.

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Muller, A. (2004). Florida’s motorcycle helmet law repeal and fatality rates. Andreas. American Journal of Public Health, 94, 556–558.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Al-Ghabban, S. I., Abdul-Sahib, M., & Waleed, M. (2013). Risk factors and pattern of injuries in motorcycle accidents in Holy Karbala. Journal of Medicine, 6, 1552–1560.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Galukande, M., Jombwe, J., Fualal, J., et al. (2009). Boda–boda injures a health problem and the burden of disease in Uganda : A tertiary hospital survey. East Central Afr J Surg, 14, 33–37.

    Google Scholar 

  8. World Health Organization. (2013). Global status report on road safety 2013: Supporting a decade of action. Geneve: WHO.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Puvanachandra, P., Hoe, C., El-Sayed, H. F., et al. (2012). Road traffic injuries and data systems in Egypt: Addressing the challenges. Traffic Injury Prevention, 13(Suppl 1), 44–56.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Clarke D, Ward P, Bartle C, et al. (2004). IN-depth study of motorcycle accidents. Road safety research report no. 54. London: Department of Transport.

  11. Zargar, M., Khaji, A., & Karbaksh, M. (2006). Pattern of motorcycle-related injuries in Tehran, 1999 to 2000: A study in 6 hospitals. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 12, 81–87.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Segui-Gomez, M., & Lopez-Valdes, F. J. (2007). Recognizing the importance of injury in other policy forums: The case of motorcycle licensing policy in Spain. Injury Prevention, 13, 429–430.

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Mao, Y., Zhang, J., Robbins, G., et al. (1997). Factors affecting the severity of motor vehicle traffic crashes involving young drivers in Ontario. Injury Prevention, 3, 183–189.

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Barrimah, I., Midhet, F., & Sharaf, F. (2012). Epidemiology of road traffic injuries in Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia: Consistency of police and health data. International Journal of Health Sciences, 6, 31–41.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Begg, D. J., Langley, J. D., & Reeder, A. I. (1994). Motorcycle crashes in New Zealand resulting in death and hospitalization. I: Introduction, methods and overview. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 26, 157–164.

    CAS  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Lateef, F. (2002). Riding motorcycles: Is it a lower limb hazard? Singapore Medical Journal, 43, 566–569.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Zargar, M., Sayyar-Roudsari, B., Shadman, M., et al. (2003). Pediatric transport related injuries in Tehran: The necessity of implementation of injury prevention protocols. Injury, 34, 820–824.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Pourhossein, M., Saeed Hosseini, A., & Babaei, M. (2004). The study of cyclist situation died owing to road accidents referred to legal medicine center sari, 2003. Scientific Journal of Forensic Medicine, 10, 132–136.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Besharati, M., & Shoja, M. (2006). Ocular injuries occurring in motor vehicular accident victims, Yazd Province. Journal of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, 14, 5.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Shahla, A., & Chare-Saz, S. (2006). A survey on injured motorcyclist referred to Motahhari hospital- Uroumyeh (Farsi). Legal Medicine Journal, 12, 79–83.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Araqi, E., & Vahedian, M. (2007). Study on susceptible and damages from motorcycle accidents in Mashhad in 2005. OFOGH-E-DANESH, 13, 34–39.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Ghaffar, A., Hyder, A. A., & Masud, T. I. (2004). The burden of road traffic injuries in developing countries: The 1st national injury survey of Pakistan. Public Health, 118, 211–217.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Rutter, D. R., Quine, L., & Albery, I. P. (1998). Perceptions of risk in motorcyclists: Unrealistic optimism, relative realism and predictions of behaviour. British Journal of Psychology, 89, 681–696.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Lin, M. R., & Kraus, J. F. (2009). A review of risk factors and patterns of motorcycle injuries. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 41, 710–722.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Chen, L. H., Baker, S. P., & Li, G. (2006). Graduated driver licensing programs and fatal crashes of 16-year old drivers: A national evaluation. Pediatrics, 118, 56–62.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Haque, M. M., Chin, H. C., & Huang, H. (2009). Modeling fault among motorcyclists involved in crashes. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 41, 327–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Iribhogbe, P., & Odai, E. (2009). Driver-related risk factors in commercial motorcycle (okada) crashes in Benin City, Nigeria. Pre-hospital Disaster Medicine, 24, 356–359.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Heydari, S. T., Maharlouei, N., Foroutan, A., et al. (2012). Fatal motorcycle accidents in Fars Province, Iran: A community-based survey. Chinese Journal of Traumatology, 15, 222–227.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Soares, D. F., Mathias, T. A., da Silva, D. W., et al. (2011). Motorcycle couriers: Characteristics of traffic accidents in southern Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia, 14, 435–444.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  30. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). (2010). Traffic Safety Facts 2010. Washington DC: National Center for Statistics and Analysis.

  31. Lardelli-Claret, P., Jimenez-Moleon, J., Luna-del-, J., et al. (2005). Driver dependent factors and the risk of causing a collision for two wheeled motor vehicles. Injury Prevention, 11, 225–231.

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Hurt, H. H. Jr, Ouellet, J. V., Thom, D. R. (1981). Motorcycle accident cause factors and identification of countermeasures, Vol 1 (tech rep), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. US Dept of Transportation, Washington, 1981.

  33. Oklahoma state university. (2009). Oklahoma state university to partener with federal high way administration on major study into causes of motorcycle crashes. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-216076586.html. Accessed April 21, 2014.

  34. Kehoe, W. (2011). Why motor cycle accidents are different. http://blog.wkw.com/blog/?BBPage=1&Tag=Automobile%20accidents. Accessed April 21, 2014.

  35. Mast, M. S., Sieverding, M., Esslen, M., et al. (2008). Masculinity causes speeding in young men. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 40, 840–842.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Motorcycle Accidents In Depth Study (MAIDS). (2009). In depth investigations of accidents involving powered two- wheelers. Final report. http://www.maids-study.eu/pdf/MAIDS2.pdf. Accessed April 21, 2011.

  37. Kelly, E., Darke, S., & Ross, J. (2004). A review of drug use and driving: Epidemiology, impairment, risk factors and risk perceptions. Drug and Alcohol Review, 23, 319–344.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Bougard, C., Espié, S., Larnaudie, B., et al. (2012). Effects of time of day and sleep deprivation on motorcycle-driving performance. PLoS One 7, e 39735. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039735.

  39. Janmohammadi, N., Pourhossein, M., & Hashemi, S. (2009). Pattern of motorcyclists mortality in Mazandran province, Northern Iran. Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal, 11, 81–84.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Benha University, Benha, Egypt

    R. H. Shaker, R. Sh. Eldesouky, O. M. Hasan & H. Bayomy

Authors
  1. R. H. Shaker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. Sh. Eldesouky
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. O. M. Hasan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. H. Bayomy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to H. Bayomy.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Shaker, R.H., Eldesouky, R.S., Hasan, O.M. et al. Motorcycle Crashes: Attitudes of the Motorcyclists Regarding Riders’ Experience and Safety Measures. J Community Health 39, 1222–1230 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-014-9883-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-014-9883-1

Keywords

  • Motorcycle
  • Motorcycle accident
  • Road accidents
  • Attitude of the motorcyclists
  • Safety measures
  • Helmet
  • Egypt