Search Results (31)

Background: Road traffic injuries (RTIs) significantly contribute to disability and death in Qatar. This observational study aimed to explore RTI mortality and injury severity trends from 2011 to 2022. Methods: Data from the national trauma database were analyzed retrospectively for mortality rates, injury severity, and characteristics of the injured populations over the years (2011–2022). Results: RTIs represented around 61.3% (n = 12,644) of 20,642 trauma hospitalizations over 12 years. The aggregate RTI mortality rate decreased from 12 to 8 per 100,000 persons, with a mean patient age of 31.8 years. The sum of deaths was 2464, comprising 1022 (41%) in-hospital and 1442 (59%) out-of-hospital fatalities. Among in-hospital deaths, bike-related mortalities totaled 35 (3%), motorcycle-related mortalities 53 (5%), motor vehicle mortalities 561 (55%), and pedestrian mortalities 373 (36%). Based on the injury severity score (ISS), RTIs were divided into four categories, namely, mild (ISS: 1–9), moderate (ISS: 10–15), severe (ISS: 16–24), and fatal (ISS: 25–75). The ISS ranged from 12 to 14, while the median ranged from 10 to 12. The injury frequency showed that mild injuries comprised 40.6% (4545), moderate injuries 26.2% (2934 subjects), and severe 16.7% (1873 subjects). Profound injuries accounted for 13.3% (1490 subjects). Severe and fatal injuries combined dropped from 30% in 2011 to 25% by 2022. Inversely, moderate injuries increased from 24% to 30%, representing a downward trend of the injury severity. Motorcycle-related injuries rose from around 3% to 28% between 2011 and 2022. Motor vehicle and pedestrian injuries declined from about 67% to 54% and 27% to 15%, respectively. Winter, Autumn, Spring, and Summer accounted for 27%, 26%, 24%, and 23% of the total injuries (11,153), respectively. Conclusions: RTI in-hospital mortality and injury severity decreased over the study period. Injury prevention programs should target frequent injury seasons and high-risk populations, such as motorcyclists. Full article

Motorcycles are a prominent contributor to most fatalities arising from traffic incidents, primarily due to drivers’ failure to adhere to traffic laws. Notably, differences in traffic violation frequency between urban and rural motorcyclists can be ascribed to variations in law enforcement practices and security budget allocations between these areas. This study aims to identify the key determinants influencing the frequency of traffic violations across these distinct geographical regions. The investigation incorporates independent variables such as personal demographics (including gender and age), driving experience, and attitudes toward traffic regulations. The analysis involved the formulation and examination of two separate logit models, each corresponding to urban and non-urban characteristics. The outcomes of a transferability test highlighted distinct disparities between the two models, with the rural model demonstrating a higher number of significant variables. In both models, certain variables consistently influenced the frequency of traffic violations. Lower violation frequencies were associated with factors such as specific age ranges, frequency of driving, and possession of a driver’s license. The insights derived from this study were leveraged to formulate policy recommendations to curb traffic violations among motorcyclists, contributing to enhancing overall traffic safety. Full article

Motorcyclists remain a disproportionately large group of vulnerable road users, with fatality rates significantly higher than that in other road groups. Additionally, fatal accidents involving motorcyclists have a more slowly decreasing trend in comparison to that of other road users, while the number of this kind of users is growing fast. For all these reasons, there is a need to understand what the key factors leading to fatal accidents are in order to identify the possible measures to minimize the accidents themselves or at least their consequences. This would permit, indeed, to positively impact the road traffic system, leading to the creation of the safest road traffic system possible, as it is the goal of the Sustainable Safety approach. The aim of this study is to dive into the mentioned problem, analyzing fatal motorcycle accidents in Slovenia over a decade, highlighting the key factors contributing to these incidents. By integrating data from four databases, the study evaluated accident trends, infrastructural elements, and rider behavior through a multi-stage analysis. Firstly, data were collected from four national, up-to-date databases that contain information about road accidents themselves, the road infrastructure, additional police data, and media descriptions. After merging this information into one comprehensive database, where each row represents all the data available for one accident, a general analysis of accidents’ trends over the considered 10-year period was developed, considering at first all fatal road accidents, then deepening it to accidents caused by a motorcyclist, and finally to single-vehicle accidents. A statistical analysis followed, aimed at identifying a statistical correlation between the accidents and the factors leading to them. The results of the first accident analysis indicated that excessive speed, incorrect driving direction, and overtaking maneuvers are the primary causes of fatal accidents, especially on non-urban roads preferred by motorcyclists. Single-vehicle accidents frequently involve collisions with roadside objects, including safety barriers and poles, underscoring the need for targeted infrastructural improvements. The following correlation analysis revealed that a total of seven factors were statistically significant: three human factors (age, gender, experience)—which were the ones with the strongest correlations—one infrastructural factor (pavement width), and three factors belonging to external conditions (accident type, cause, and location). Of these, four were positively correlated to the causer, while three, i.e., pavement width, causes, and road location, were negatively correlated. This study provides a foundation for future research on less severe accidents and proactive risk behavior analysis, aiming to improve motorcyclist safety comprehensively. Full article

Background: Food delivery motorcyclists face unique risks that often lead to risky riding behaviors. Thailand, with one of the highest rates of motorcycle-related injuries and fatalities globally, has seen a surge in food delivery services following the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing the number of motorcyclists on the roads. Delivery motorcyclists are especially vulnerable due to frequent exposure to traffic congestion, time pressures, and adverse weather. This study aims to identify key health beliefs and external factors contributing to risky riding behaviors among food delivery motorcyclists in Thailand. Methods: The study surveyed 2000 food delivery motorcyclists across five regions in Thailand, employing the Motorcycle Rider Behavior Questionnaire and the Health Belief Model. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships between health beliefs and risky riding behaviors. Results: The analysis revealed that health motivation, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, and cues to action were negatively associated with risky riding behaviors. Conversely, perceived barriers positively influenced these behaviors. Fatigue and aggressive riding were significant predictors of increased risky behaviors at the 0.001 level. Conclusions: Addressing individual health beliefs and external factors like fatigue and aggression is essential for reducing risky riding behaviors and preventing severe injuries. Full article

This study aimed to identify and compare the risk factors associated with motorcycle crash severity during both daytime and nighttime, for single and multivehicle incidents in Thailand using 2021–2024 data. The research employed the XGBoost (Extreme Gradient Boosting) method for statistical analysis and extensively examined the temporal instability of risk factors. The results highlight the importance of features impacting the injury severity of roadway collisions across various conditions. For single motorcycle crashes, the key risk factors included speeding, early morning incidents, off-road events, and long holidays. In multivehicle crashes, rear-end collisions, interactions with large vehicles, and collisions involving other motorcycles or passenger cars were linked to increased injury severity. The findings indicate that the important factors associated with motorcyclist injury severity in roadway crashes vary depending on the type of crash and time of day. These insights are valuable for policymakers and relevant authorities in developing targeted interventions to enhance road safety and mitigate the incidence of severe and fatal motorcycle crashes. Full article

Road traffic accidents (RTAs) represent the key sign of the level of road safety. Romania once held the record for road deaths among European Union (EU) countries and as of 2023, it came second place. It is of utmost importance to assess whether measures that restricted human mobility during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a significant reduction in road fatalities. This study assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on victims of fatal RTAs by analyzing medicolegal autopsies from the Timisoara Institute of Legal Medicine (TILM), Timis County, Romania. Materials and methods: Medicolegal autopsy records of RTA victims from TILM in a 5-year period (2017–2021) were analyzed. Results: 395 cases (10.5%) were represented by victims of fatal RTAs. The reduction in the number of cases in the pandemic period was not statistically significant (p = 0.061) compared to the pre-pandemic period, but the number of victims of RTAs decreased by 17.6%. This highlights the importance of understanding the role of other risk factors in fatal RTAs, since a lesser volume of traffic did not cause a significant decrease in road fatalities. Male victims were predominant, with 18–50 years being the most affected age group. In the pandemic period, the most affected age groups were 31–40 (18.5%), followed closely by 41–50 (17.6%) and 18–30 (16.7%). In the pre-pandemic period, the first place was held by people in the age interval of 61–70 (20.5%), followed by 18–30 (19.2%). Drivers were the most involved type of road user, and a slight increase in the proportion of cyclists (13.9% from 10.5%) and motorcyclists (6.5% from 5.9%) was noted. Conclusions: Our findings show that measures implemented to control the COVID-19 pandemic may have had a positive effect on the reduction of RTAs, as shown by the information based on medicolegal autopsies in Timis County, Romania, but more attention needs to be focused on other risk factors. Further studies need to identify reasons for the small reduction in fatal injuries when the volume of traffic was reduced during mandated national lockdown. Full article

In developing nations, motorcycles are a ubiquitous mode of transportation on local road networks, contributing to a substantial frequency of traffic accidents and fatalities. These occurrences exhibit significant discrepancies between urban and rural road environments. Specifically, urban roads exhibit greater traffic density and more robust law enforcement presence compared to their rural counterparts, factors that invariably influence vehicular speeds. Consequently, these variations in speed are associated with the adoption of riskier behaviors by motorists, with a pronounced impact on Young Adult Motorcyclists (YAMs) who demonstrate a heightened propensity for engaging in perilous activities, such as operating a motorcycle while under the influence or executing excessively close maneuvers. This study seeks to examine the factors that influence injury severity among YAM on local roads by contrasting urban and rural roadways, taking into account the different roadway contexts. Data from motorcycle crashes on local roads in Thailand between 2018 and 2020 were analyzed using the Random Parameter Logit Models with Unobserved Heterogeneity in Means and Variances (RPLMV) approach to investigate the relationship between contributing factors and YAM injury severity. The findings revealed several critical insights into the factors influencing the severity of motorcycle accidents, particularly among YAM on local urban roads. It is evident that a confluence of factors, including the absence of a valid driver’s license, exceeding designated speed limits, and the involvement of male drivers, significantly elevates the probability of fatal outcomes in these accidents. Our analysis has also unveiled intriguing patterns in nighttime accidents involving motorcycles, where those with functioning vehicle lights and those occurring under the cover of darkness without proper illumination share notable similarities in terms of severity. Furthermore, our research has emphasized that accidents transpiring outside city confines during nighttime hours with adequate lighting exhibit a negligible impact on higher crash severity. The key findings advocate for the development and implementation of targeted policy recommendations and countermeasures to alleviate the severity of accidents involving YAM. This includes a proposition to bolster law enforcement efforts, particularly in regions beyond city borders, and to enforce strict adherence to regulations concerning driver’s license verifications. Our study offers a crucial foundation for future research and policy development aimed at improving road safety and reducing the severity of motorcycle accidents, with the ultimate goal of safeguarding the lives of YAM. Full article

Motorcyclists are 28 times more likely to die in traffic crashes than occupants in passenger cars and they constitute 14% of the total traffic fatalities while being less than 3% percent of registered vehicles. Training and education of motorcycle operators has been an area of focus to improve these statistics, but, considering that motorcycle safety has become worse in the last 20 years, more must be done. This paper summarizes the needs and results of existing infrastructure-related improvements for motorcyclist safety, while also identifying areas of research needed to continue to advance motorcyclist safety through engineering-based infrastructure improvements. Full article

The lack of helmet use in motorcyclists is one of the main risk factors with severe consequences in traffic accidents. Wearing a certified motorcycle helmet can reduce the risk of head injuries by 69% and fatalities by 42%. At present there are systems that detect the use of the helmet in a very precise way, however they are not robust enough to guarantee a safe journey, that is why is proposed an intelligent model for detecting the helmet in real time using training images of a camera mounted on the motorcycle, and convolutional neural networks that allow constant monitoring of the region of interest to identify the use of the helmet. As a result, a model was obtained capable of identifying when the helmet is used or not in an objective and constant manner while the user is making a journey, with a performance of 97.24%. Thus, it was possible to conclude that this new safety perspective provides a first approach to the generation of new preventive systems that help reduce accident rates in these means of transport. As future work, it is proposed to improve the model with different images that may violate the helmet detection. Full article

Using motorcycle crash data from 2016 to 2019, this paper aims to uncover and compare the risk factors that influence the severity of motorcyclist injuries sustained in daytime and nighttime motorcycle crashes in Thailand. Mixed-ordered probit models with means and variances in heterogeneity were used to take into consideration unobserved heterogeneity. The temporal instability of risk factors was also extensively explored. The results show that male motorcyclists, speeding, fatigue, crashes in work zones, crashes on raised median roads, intersection-related crashes, crashes on wet roads, and crashes on unlit roads are all factors that are positively associated with the risk of death and serious injury in nighttime crashes. The presence of pillions, crashes on two-lane roads, crashes on depressed/flush median roads, crashes in rural areas, U-turn-related crashes, weekend crashes involving heavy vehicles, and head-on crashes are factors that were positively associated with risk of death and serious injury for both daytime and nighttime crashes. This study’s findings provide evidence that factors that influence motorcycle accidents during the daytime and nighttime vary significantly. Additionally, nighttime crashes typically carried a higher risk of fatalities or serious injuries compared to daytime crashes. A discussion of policy recommendations is also provided. Full article

Motorcycle accidents can impede sustainable development due to the high fatality rate associated with motorcycle riders, particularly in developing countries. Although there has been extensive research conducted on motorcycle accidents on highways, there is a limited understanding of the factors contributing to accidents involving the most commonly used motorcycles on local roads. This study aimed to identify the root causes of fatal motorcycle accidents on local roads. The contributing factors consist of four groups: rider characteristics, maneuvers prior to the crash, temporal and environmental characteristics, and road characteristics. The study employed random parameters logit models with unobserved heterogeneity in means and variances while also incorporating the temporal instability principle. The results revealed that the data related to motorcycle accidents on local roads between 2018 and 2020 exhibited temporal variation. Numerous variables were discovered to influence the means and variances of the unobserved factors that were identified as random parameters. Male riders, riders over 50 years old, foreign riders, and accidents that occurred at night with inadequate lighting were identified as the primary factors that increased the risk of fatalities. This paper presents a clear policy recommendation aimed at organizations and identifies the relevant stakeholders, including the Department of Land Transport, traffic police, local government organizations, and academic groups. Full article

This study on Malaysian motorcyclists was carried out due to the high fatality rate of motorcycle traffic accidents. A survey was conducted to assess demographic information, risky behavior engagement, positive affect, and risk perception among Malaysian motorcyclists. The results were analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling to assess the survey’s reliability and validity. Consequently, a statistical model was created based on the hypothesis model where the relationship among each latent construct was evaluated, including risk perception, positive affect, risky behavior, and mediator personal characteristics. The model revealed that positive affect had the strongest positive relationship with the construct of risky behavior (t-value of 15.517), while the personal characteristics of the rider had a significant direct effect on risky behavior, with a t-value of 2.175. In addition, an indirect effect of personal characteristics on risky behavior through positive affect was also found to be significant (t-value = 3.885). These results concur with most studies conducted on motorist driving behavior showing that motorcyclist risky behavior engagement can potentially be reduced from the perspective of encouragement and empowerment instead of enforcement and deterrence. This study is important in identifying practical measures that can integrate road safety into a broader strategy for sustainable transportation. Full article

Motorcyclist safety remains a significant problem, and the overall safety of motorcyclists has been improved at a much slower rate in the last decade compared to passenger and commercial vehicles. Because motorcyclists are not protected by the vehicle frame, fatalities or severe injuries are often related to hitting a roadside object or safety barrier. The main objective of this study is to investigate relations between the presence and type of road safety barriers and the consequences of motorcycle crashes on rural roads. For this purpose, we analysed Croatian rural road-crash data from 2015–2019, tested several factors as single predictors, and combined them using binary logistic regression. The results show that run-off-road crashes and nighttime driving are significant risk factors. There was no significant positive impact of the presence of safety barriers on the crash consequences due to the unsuitability of the barriers for motorcyclists, which proves the fact that the functionality of existing safety barriers should be upgraded. The results of this study could be further used by researchers, road designers, and experts to improve road infrastructure safety on rural roads. Full article

Motorcycle crashes have been a significant cause of death and serious injury in urban regions, which has a negative effect on the development of sustainable urban transportation. In this study, two logit models, one model for illegal motorcyclist behaviors and the other for crash injury severity, are developed using urban motorcycle crashes in Hunan Province, China. The two developed models could allow us to simultaneously identify significant factors related to specific illegal behaviors and the severity level of crashes. The results show that illegal motorcyclist behaviors, including unlicensed riding, drunk riding, and improper overtaking/lane changes, are more likely to cause serious injuries or death. Young motorcyclists are associated with a higher likelihood of illegal behaviors, while old motorcyclists are associated with a higher likelihood of serious injuries or death. Night conditions without street lights are significantly associated with a higher probability of illegal motorcyclist behaviors as well as higher injury severity. Crashes caused by drunk riding have the highest likelihood of fatal/severe injury. Based on these findings, efficient interventions are recommended to curb illegal motorcyclist behaviors and alleviate crash injury severity. Full article

Not wearing a helmet, not properly strapping the helmet on, or wearing a substandard helmet increases the risk of fatalities and injuries in motorcycle crashes. This research examines the differences in motorcycle crash injury severity considering crashes involving the compliance with and defiance of helmet use by motorcycle riders and highlights the temporal variation in their impact. Three-year (2017–2019) motorcycle crash data were collected from RESCUE 1122, a provincial emergency response service for Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The available crash data include crash-specific information, vehicle, driver, spatial and temporal characteristics, roadway features, and traffic volume, which influence the motorcyclist’s injury severity. A random parameters logit model with heterogeneity in means and variances was evaluated to predict critical contributory factors in helmet-wearing and non-helmet-wearing motorcyclist crashes. Model estimates suggest significant variations in the impact of explanatory variables on motorcyclists’ injury severity in the case of compliance with and defiance of helmet use. For helmet-wearing motorcyclists, key factors significantly associated with increasingly severe injury and fatal injuries include young riders (below 20 years of age), female pillion riders, collisions with another motorcycle, large trucks, passenger car, drivers aged 50 years and above, and drivers being distracted while driving. In contrast, for non-helmet-wearing motorcyclists, the significant factors responsible for severe injuries and fatalities were distracted driving, the collision of two motorcycles, crashes at U-turns, weekday crashes, and drivers above 50 years of age. The impact of parameters that predict motorcyclist injury severity was found to vary dramatically over time, exhibiting statistically significant temporal instability. The results of this study can serve as potential motorcycle safety guidelines for all relevant stakeholders to improve the state of motorcycle safety in the country. Full article