Does Motorcycle Education Reduce Injuries?

In Thailand, as in other Asia nations, motorcycles are an important mode of transport. They are swift, cheap and fuel-efficient.  Since 1996, motorcycles have made up almost 80% of all registered motor vehicles in the rural north Thailand province of Tak, about 500 km north of Bangkok. Motorcycle injuries have been increasing along with increased numbers of motorcycles. As a result, researchers at the Department of Community and Social Medicine at the Mae Sot General Hospital in Tak sought ways to reduce the number and severity of motorcycle injuries and reduce fatalities.

Researchers found that fatalities and serious injuries among motorcycle riders in Tak were associated with three specific risk factors:

• failing to have a proper operator’s license;
• not wearing a helmet: and
• drinking alcohol within two hours of riding.

Local health officials partnered with the Tak Department of Land Transportation to try an intervention designed to decrease motorcycle injuries. An educational program was developed to reach out to riders in selected villages.  Health officials explained the causes of motorcycle crashes and how helmets could prevent or lessen the severity of the injuries.  Transportation officials hosted rider education sessions, in which traffic laws and traffic signs and signals were explained.  Riders were also given briefings to prepare them for licensing tests.

The results of this program were mixed: the number of licensed riders rose to 70% in the intervention areas, as compared to a rate of 46% in non-intervention areas. Helmet use among riders increased from below 20% to 46%, which was twice the rate of the non-intervention areas.

Riders’ alcohol consumption before operating a motorcycle, however, remained unaffected. The number of fatalities from motorcycle crashes remained similar in both the intervention and non – intervention villages. 

One strategy, the enforcement of local traffic laws, can lead to changed behaviors in motorcyclists and, in time, more saved lives.

Reference
Swaddiwudhipong W, Boonmak C, Nguntra P, Mahasakpan P. Effect of motorcycle rider education on changes in risk behaviors and motorcycle-related injuries in Thailand. Tropical Medicine and International Health 1998;3:767-770.

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