The Prevalence of Risky Behaviours in Traffic that can Lead to Traumatic Brain

Introduction: Traffic accidents are a common cause of traumatic brain injuries. Such injuries are often associated with problematic behaviour i.e., violations of the Traffic Safety Act. Driving under the influence of intoxicants and non-compliance with traffic signals often cause traffic accidents, and not wearing a crash helmet or not wearing a protective seat belt increase the possibility of developing a traumatic brain injury. Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the prevalence of risky behaviours in traffic that can lead to traumatic brain injury and to examine differences according to gender. It is assumed that the most common risky behaviour is failure to wear a crash helmet and that the male participants will show a higher prevalence of risky behaviour compared to women. Methods: The measuring instrument is a questionnaire consisting of nine statements. The questionnaire was filled out by a sample of 302 people in Croatia. The IBM SPSS Statistics 22 program was used for data processing. The prevalence of risky behaviours was expressed in percentages, and the Pearson’s Chi-Square was used to examine the differences between male and female participants. Results: The results show that risky behaviours in traffic are present, especially not wearing a crash helmet while riding a bicycle, running across the road on a red light, and not wearing a seat belt in a car whilst sitting in the back seat. The male participants showed a higher prevalence of risky behaviour compared to women. Conclusion: To reduce the number of traffic accidents that can lead to traumatic brain injury, it is important to act on risky behaviours in traffic. Public health policies and legislation are one way of prevention. In addition, it is important to inform, educate and raise public awareness about this global problem. In order to implement the necessary preventative measures, one should be aware of the prevalence of the risky behaviours in traffic that can lead to traumatic brain injury and of the groups that are more willing to take risks in traffic.

Death and Injury in Motorcycle Accidents: The Utilisation of Technology to Reduce Risk.

In the early 1970s in Great Britain, the fatality rate for motorcyclists was twenty times that for a car driver, this relative risk has widened to around fifty in modern times. Motorcycling has not become more hazardous, rather a modest decline in the fatality rate over four decades has been eclipsed by a considerably greater reduction in the rate for car drivers. Travel by car has become safer, with seatbelts, a rigid safety cell and crumple zones, airbags, head restraints, energy-absorbing steering wheels, and shatter-resistant windscreens, all contributing to risk reduction. A motorcyclist, conversely, on most modern machines, has none of these features, with the crash helmet being the only safety feature generally adopted by motorcyclists over the last half century. The risk inherent in motorcycling could be reduced to a similar level as car travel by a radical re-design of the motorcycle to include a rigid safety cell, clad in energy absorbing deformable material, coupled with a rider restraint system. Less radical technological changes that could reduce the risk of injury, or death, include fitted anti-lock braking systems, ideally with integrated stability control, and an integral impact-activated airbag may arrest the forward motion of a rider in frontal impact conditions. The relatively simple measure of increased rider and/or machine conspicuousness can reduce the risk of certain accidents.

Upper and Lower Extremity Injury Pattern and Severity of Motorbike Accident – A Retrospective Study

Aim: This study aims at determining the upper and lower extremity injury pattern and severity of motorcycle accidents in the Tamale metropolis, Ghana. Methods: A retrospective hospital-based study comprising data on 190 motorcycle accident victims at the Accident and Emergency Centres of three major hospitals (Tamale Teaching Hospital, Central and West Hospitals) in Tamale metropolis from February to April 2018. Demographic data, injury type, injury location, use of crash helmet and injury outcomes were retrieved from the medical records registry. Data was analysed using SPSS version 23.0. Categorical variables were compared using Chi-square test and One-way ANOVA test was done to compare groups. Results: From the 190 victims, 78.9% were treated and discharged, 17.4% were disabled and 3.7% died. Injury mechanism was significantly (F-test = 22.64, p = 0.00) linked with injury outcome. Victims who had frontal impact collision and died (71.4%) were significantly (p<0.05) more than those who were treated and discharged (26.7%). Accident victims with upper extremity injury who became disabled (18.2%) were more (p<0.05) than those treated and discharged (16.7%). Out of the 190 victims involved in motorcycle accidents, 64.2% were not wearing crash helmet. There was significant relationship (p<0.05) between use of crash helmet and injury outcome. More (23.0%) of accident victims disabled were not wearing crash helmet and among those who died, none (0.0%) had a crash helmet on. Conclusion: Upper and lower extremity injuries as well head and neck injuries were high among motorcycle accident victims. The study recommends capacity building for healthcare professionals to manage head, neck, upper and lower extremity injuries at the Accident and Emergency Centres. Regular training programs should be conducted by law enforcement authorities in northern Ghana to train motorcycle riders and educate them on road traffic regulations. Compliance to the use of crash helmet by motorcyclists should strongly be enforced. Further prospective studies are needed to delineate these injury patterns and ascertain reason behind non-usage of crash helmet by motorcyclist in the Metropolis.

Pattern of mandibular fractures and helmet use among motorcycle crash victims in Tanzania

Background: The maxillofacial structures are commonly affected in motorcycle crashes, with the mandible being one of the most frequently fractured bones. Helmets have been shown to have a protective effect in preventing maxillofacial inju- ries, however, its effect on the occurrence of mandibular fractures is not very well established. Objectives: To evaluate the pattern of mandibular fractures among motorcycle crash victims in Tanzania, and determine the role of helmets in occurrence of mandibular fractures among the motorcyclists. Methodology: This was a 6-months prospective, cross-sectional study that recruited motorcycle crash victims who reported with mandibular fractures following motorcycle crash at Muhimbili National Hospital. A specially designed questionnaire was used for data collection. For purpose of analysis, the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 20 was used. Results: The study included a total of 132 participants of whom majority were male (120, 90.9%). The peak age incidence was 21-40 years in 76.5% of the victims. More than half (89, 67.4%) of the victims were riders during the crash. Helmet use was reported in 42.3% of the victims, and majority (67.3%) were usinghalf-face helmets. The symphysis region was the fre- quently fractured anatomical location (50, 37.9%). More than half of the victims had multiple site involvement, with higher odds observed in individuals wearing half-face helmets. Conclusion: Young males were affected ten times more than females. Most of the victims were riders during the crash. The symphysis region was the frequently fractured anatomical site. There was no difference in occurrence of mandibular frac- tures between those who wore and those who did not wear helmets during the crashes. However, the severity of mandibular fractures was dependent on the type of helmet used. Keywords: Mandibular fracture; motorcycle crash; helmet use; Tanzania.

User Acceptance of Crash Helmet by Motorcyclists in Malaysia: An Empirical Analysis

Malaysia ranks among the first twenty countries with the highest death rate from road accidents with death from motorcycle accidents accounting for more than sixty percent of this death rate. The Malaysian government, in the year 2010, started the enforcement of helmet (head protector) in an effort to reduce the rate of death from this source. This paper examines users‟ acceptance of helmet by motorcyclist, using the theory of reasoned action (TRA). The data for this study comes from field survey of motorcyclists in Malaysia. This data was analysed using structural equation modelling. It was discovered that different factors from the theory account for user acceptance of this novelty. The paper concludes by specifying the policy implications of this and recommends other ways of improvement.