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.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. |
