Motorcycle crashes: attitudes of the motorcyclists regarding riders' experience and safety measures

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.