A Comparison of Skeletal Injuries Arising from Moped and Motorcycle Collisions.

Motorcycle and moped injuries remain a significant cause of motor-vehicle related morbidity and mortality. There is a paucity of literature describing the skeletal injuries of moped riders and how these compare to those of motorcyclists, however. This study seeks to examine the skeletal injuries sustained in such incidents and determine if there are significant differences. Hospitalized riders injured on powered two-wheeled vehicles (PTW) between 2004 and 2007 were entered into a registry along with their presentation and clinical course. This registry was sorted by PTW type. Riders with injuries of the appendicular skeleton, bony pelvis, and spine were extracted. Injuries were categorized by bone location. Demographic data, helmet use, head injury, facial fracture, Injury Severity Score (ISS), and mortality were extracted. Overall, 406/578 motorcyclists, 197/357 moped riders, and 62/92 dirt-bike riders sustained fractures of the appendicular skeleton, pelvis and/or spine. Motorcyclists had a significantly higher ISS upon presentation and had increased first-hospital day mortality in addition to more skeletal injuries, more fractures of the upper extremity, and more fractures of the spine, pelvis, and foot. Moped riders had a significantly lower rate of helmet use and higher rate of head injuries and facial fractures. In summary, while both moped and motorcycle riders share a risk for injuries of the lower extremity, their overall pattern of injury differs. Motorcyclists appear to be at increased risk for more severe injuries and injuries of the upper extremity, spine, and pelvis, while moped riders are at increased risk for significant head and facial injury.

Powered two-wheeler crash scenario development.

Powered two wheeler (PTW) riders are a group of vulnerable road users that are overrepresented compared to other road user groups with regards to crash injury outcomes. The understanding of the dynamics that occur before a crash benefits in providing suitable countermeasures for said crashes. A clearer interpretation of which factors interact to cause collisions allows an understanding of the mechanisms that produce higher risk in specific situations in the roadway. Real world in-depth crash data provides detailed data which includes human, vehicular and environmental factors collected on site for crash analysis purposes. This study used macroscopic on-scene crash data collected in the UK between the years 2000-2010 as part of the "Road Accident In-depth Study" to analyse the factors that were prevalent in 428 powered two-wheeler crashes. A descriptive analysis and latent class cluster analysis was performed to identify the interaction between different crash factors and develop PTW scenarios based on this analysis. The PTW rider was identified as the prime contributor in 36% of the multiple vehicle crashes. Results identified seven specific scenarios, the main types of which identified two particular 'looked but failed to see' crashes and two types of single vehicle PTW crashes. In cases where the PTW lost control diagnosis failures were more common, for road users other than the PTW rider detection issues were of particular relevance.

Desenvolvimento e aplicação de método analítico para determinação de substâncias psicoativas em amostras biológicas de motociclistas empregando LC-MS/MS / Development and application of analytical method for psychoactive substances determination in biological samples of motorcyclists using LC-M/MS

Os acidentes de trânsito consistem em um grave problema de saúde pública, principalmente nos países em desenvolvimento. No Brasil, um dos recordistas mundiais nesse tipo de acidente, somente no ano de 2017 o número de mortos por essa causa foi de aproximadamente 35 mil, sendo que por volta de 12 mil eram motociclistas ou passageiros de moto. Dirigir sob efeito de substâncias psicoativas como drogas ilícitas e algumas classes de medicamentos pode aumentar significativamente o risco de ocorrências de acidentes automotivos. Pesquisas mostram que diversos fármacos psicoativos alteram a capacidade motora e cognitiva dos usuários, porém os únicos estudos brasileiros feitos com motociclistas avaliam a prevalência de uso de drogas ilícitas em usuários hospitalizados, não havendo assim trabalhos sobre o uso de outras substâncias psicoativas na população em geral de motociclistas. Visando a importância desse fato, o presente projeto avaliou a prevalência de drogas ilícitas (canabinoides, estimulantes e anfetaminas) e de fármacos psicoativos pertencentes às classes dos anti-histamínicos, relaxantes musculares, benzodiazepínicos e anorexígenos nas amostras de fluido oral de motociclistas na cidade de São Paulo. Para tal, foi desenvolvido um método analítico que utiliza a técnica de cromatografia líquida acoplada à espectrometria de massas. Além do desenvolvimento de um novo método analítico que poderá ser utilizado para o monitoramento de motoristas em geral, foram obtidos dados da prevalência do uso de drogas e medicamentos pelos motociclistas na cidade São Paulo, contribuindo assim para o desenvolvimento de medidas preventivas, políticas públicas e para o esclarecimento sobre os riscos de dirigir sob efeito de substâncias psicoativas

Traffic accidents are a serious public health problem, especially in developing countries. In Brazil, one of the world record holders in this kind of accident, in 2017 the number of death due to this cause was approximately 35 thousand, and nearly 12 thousand were motorcyclists or motorcycle passengers. Driving under the influence of psychoactive substances such as illicit drugs and some prescription drugs can significantly increase the risk of motor vehicle accidents. Researches shows that several psychoactive drugs alter the motor and cognitive capacity of users, but the few studies done in Brazil with motorcyclists evaluate the prevalence of illicit drug use in hospitalized users, thus there is no work on the use of other psychoactive substances in the general population of bikers. Considering the importance of this fact, the present project evaluated the prevalence of illicit drugs (cannabinoids, stimulants, and amphetamines) and psychoactive prescription drugs belonging to the classes of antihistamines, muscle relaxants, benzodiazepines and anorectics in motorcyclist's oral fluid samples in the city of São Paulo. Therefore, an analytical method has been developed using liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. A new analytical method was developed and validated and may be used to monitor drivers in general. Data about drugs prevalence and drug use by motorcyclists in São Paulo city were obtained contributing to the development of preventive measures, public policies and for clarification on the risks of driving under the influence of psychoactive substances

Safety in numbers: target prevalence affects the detection of vehicles during simulated driving.

The "low-prevalence effect" refers to the fact that observers often fail to detect rare targets (<5 % prevalence) during visual search tasks. Previous research has demonstrated robust prevalence effects in real-world tasks that employ static images, such as airport luggage screening. No published research has examined prevalence effects in dynamic tasks, such as driving. We conducted a driving simulator experiment to investigate whether target prevalence effects influence the detection of other vehicles while driving. The target vehicles were motorcycles and buses, with prevalence being manipulated both within and between subjects: Half of the subjects experienced a high prevalence of motorcycles with a low prevalence of buses, and half experienced a high prevalence of buses with a low prevalence of motorcycles. Consistent with our hypotheses, drivers detected high-prevalence targets faster than low-prevalence targets for both vehicle types. Overall, our results support the notion that increasing the prevalence of visual search targets makes them more salient, and consequently easier to detect.

On the outdoor annoyance from scooter and motorbike noise in the urban environment.

The health impacts of environmental noise are a growing concern amongst both the general public and policy-makers in Europe. Environmental noise - especially from road transportation - is widely accepted as an important environmental impact factor that can be taken as a start for the process of evaluating the impact of annoyance on the exposed urban population. Extensive urbanisation and the increase of road transport define the main driving forces for the environmental noise exposure of the population. In urban conditions, it is rather common, regarding road transportation noise, to hear from people that, especially, PTW (Powered Two Wheelers) are annoying, and many times are actually the most annoying environmental noise sources introducing a degradation of the urban environment. In this research, in Athens city centre, both scooters and motorbikes operation patterns are analysed, in the basis of their environmental impact through ad-hoc tests to establish if specific features of their emitted noise are annoying and affect the quality of life. It resulted that PTW are a relevant cause of specific environmental annoyance on pedestrians when low background noise levels and sparse traffic flow allow identifying the PTW. Based on the results of a measurement campaign, both L(max) and roughness indices are identified as characteristic noise signatures of the PTW. Results are compared to laboratory studies on annoyance found in literature and to a specific set of interviews with a large number of pedestrians in selected sites. Annoyance caused by scooters and motorbikes is analysed in the findings and conclusions.

Role of motorcycle type in fatal motorcycle crashes.

INTRODUCTION: Motorcycles vary in design and performance capability, and motorcyclists may select certain motorcycle types based on driving preferences. Conversely, motorcycle performance capability may influence the likelihood of risky driving behaviors such as speeding. Both mechanisms may affect fatal crash risk when examined by motorcycle type. Although it was not possible to estimate the effect of each mechanism, the current study analyzed fatal crash data for evidence of motorcycle type differences in risky driving behaviors and risk of driver death. METHODS: Street legal motorcycles were classified into 10 types based on design characteristics and then further grouped as cruiser/standard, touring, sport touring, sport/unclad sport, supersport, and all others. For each motorcycle type, driver death rates per 10,000 registered vehicle years and the prevalence of fatal crash characteristics such as speeding were analyzed. Differences among motorcycle types concerning the effect of engine displacement were examined using Poisson regression. RESULTS: Overall, driver death rates for supersport motorcycles were four times as high as those for cruiser/standard motorcycles. Fatally injured supersport drivers were most likely to have been speeding and most likely to have worn helmets, but least likely to have been impaired by alcohol compared with drivers of other motorcycle types. The patterns in driver factors held after accounting for the effects of age and gender. Increased engine displacement was associated with higher driver death rates for each motorcycle type. CONCLUSION: Strong effects of motorcycle type were observed on driver death rates and on the likelihood of risky driving behaviors such as speeding and alcohol impairment. Although the current study could not completely disentangle the effects of motorcycle type and rider characteristics such as age on driver death rates, the effects of both motorcycle type and rider age on the likelihood of risky driving behaviors were observed among fatally injured motorcycle drivers. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Certain motorcycle designs, particularly supersport motorcycles, are associated with increases in risky driving behaviors and higher driver death rates. At present, there are no proven countermeasures for this situation. However, existing countermeasures such as helmet laws and automated speed enforcement could have a substantial benefit.

With power comes responsibility: motorcycle engine power and power-to-weight ratio in relation to accident risk.

OBJECTIVE: Current European legislation allows the EU member states to restrict the maximum power output of motorcycles to 74 kW even though evidence supporting the limit is scarce and has produced mixed results-perhaps because motorcycle performance has been measured by engine displacement, not engine power, in most of the previous studies. This study investigates the relationship of motorcycle engine power and power-to-weight ratio to risk of fatal and nonfatal crashes in Finland. METHODS: The fatality rate (number of fatal accidents/number of registered motorbikes) for riders of different ages riding bikes belonging to different power and power-to-weight ratio classes was examined using a comprehensive in-depth database. Data on nonfatal accidents were acquired from a Web questionnaire (N = 2708), which also served as a basis for estimating riders' annual mileage. Mileage data allowed the calculation of accident risk per kilometer ridden for bikes differing in power and power-to-weight ratio. RESULTS: The fatality risk per number of registered motorcycles and per kilometer ridden increases both with power and power-to-weight ratio, independently of rider's age. No relationship between performance and risk of a less severe crash was found. The pre-accident speed of the most powerful bikes was 20 km/h or more over the speed limit in a large proportion of the fatal accidents (odds ratio = 4.8 for > 75 kW motorbikes; odds ratio = 6.2 for > 0.3 kW/kg motorbikes). CONCLUSION: The risk of being involved in a fatal crash is higher among the riders of powerful motorcycles. However, it is not clear whether the results are related to the riding habits of the riders that choose the most powerful bikes available or whether the high risk is due to the properties of the bikes themselves. Therefore, further research is needed before considering legal limits on motorcycle performance.

The effectiveness of antilock brake systems on motorcycles in reducing real-life crashes and injuries.

This study set out to evaluate the effectiveness of antilock brake system (ABS) technology on motorcycles in reducing real-life injury crashes and to mitigate injury severity. The study comprised an analysis of in-depth fatal crash data in Sweden during 2005-2008 to investigate the potential of ABS as well an estimate of the effectiveness of ABS in crash reduction in Sweden between 2003 and 2008 using induced exposure methods. Findings show that head-on collisions were the least ABS-affected crash types and collisions at intersections the most influenced. Induced exposure analysis showed that the overall effectiveness of ABS was 38 percent on all crashes with injuries and 48 percent on all severe and fatal crashes, with a minimum effectiveness of 11 and 17 percent, respectively. The study recommends the fitment of ABS on all new motorcycles as soon as possible and that customers only purchase motorcycles with ABS.

Motorcycle engine size and risk of moderate to fatal injury from a motorcycle crash.

Current New Zealand law requires that motorcyclists with a learner or restricted licence ride a motorcycle with an engine capacity of 250 cc or less. Previous research has reported inconsistent findings regarding the relationship between cubic-capacity and risk of a crash. We sought to determine: (1) compliance with the law; (2) if the risk of an injury crash is increased for learner/restricted licence holders who do not comply with the cubic capacity regulations; and (3) whether the risk of an injury crash increases with increasing capacity of the motorcycle. A population-based case-control study was conducted in the Auckland region over a 3 year period from February 1993. Among the controls, 66% were riding motorcycles with a capacity greater than 250 cc. The percentages for those with: full, learner and restricted, and no licence were 82, 29 and 60%, respectively. There was no evidence that learner and restricted licence holders who did not comply with the cubic capacity requirement were at increased risk. It should be noted however, that 75% of those who were complying were doing so on motorcycles of 250 cc or less. Relative to motorcycles of less than 250 cc the risk of an injury crash was elevated by at least 50% for all cubic capacity categories, with the exception of the 251-499 group. There was, however, no consistent pattern of increasing risk as cubic capacity increased. The findings of this study coupled with the fact that cubic capacity is a poor measure of power suggest that, if cubic capacity was to remain the sole basis for restricting learner and restricted licence holders, consideration should be given to having a substantially lower cubic capacity than 250 cc. An analysis of risk in terms of power to weight ratio and style of motorcycle may provide a more useful insight into the benefits of motorcycle design restrictions for novice riders.

Analysis of fatal motorcycle crashes: crash typing.

There were 2074 crashes fatal to a motorcycle driver in the United States during 1992. A computer program was developed to convert Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) data for these crashes into standard format English language "crash reports". The computer generated reports were analyzed and crash type categories were defined. Five defined crash type categories accounted for 1785 (86%) of the 2074 crash events: Ran off-road (41%); ran traffic control (18%); oncoming or head-on (11%); left-turn oncoming (8%); and motorcyclist down (7%). Alcohol and excessive speed were common factors associated with motorcyclist crash involvement. Left turns and failure to yield were common factors associated with the involvement of other motorists. Suggested countermeasures include helmet use and enforcement of speed and impaired driving laws.