Analysis of Injury Patterns of Motorcycle Riders Admitted to Teaching Hospital, Karapitiya, Sri Lanka

The number of fatality and the disability due to motorcycle collisions is being increasing globally and most of them are preventable tragedies. Motorcycle riders are a major vulnerable group of road users and the severity of crashes could be dependent on several factors. The aim of this study is to study the characteristics of crashes and the injury pattern of motorcycle riders. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive prospective study was conducted on patients admitted to Teaching Hospital Karapitiya with a history of motorcycle crashes. Data on socio-demographic profile and different characteristics relevant to driver, vehicle, environment and road factors were collected and analysis of injuries was performed. Results: The injury pattern and the characteristics of the motorcycle riders, including 461 riders and 197 pillion riders were analyzed. There is a male predominance in both groups. Accidents among riders are more prevalent in 20-34 age groups. There is bi-fold prevalence of the time of incident representing usual traffic peaks in the area. The 10% of drivers in our study did not possess a license and 24% of riders were drunk at the time of the accidents. Injuries, commonly the abrasions and lacerations were prevalent in both extremities and head area in both types of riders. Drivers are often encountered with severe injuries compared to the pillion riders with a significant difference. Conclusions: Higher prevalence in age group of 20-34 years, and the male sex were identified. Injuries to limbs and head were common in both types of riders. Drivers are at the risk of sustaining more serious injuries than pillion riders in the study population. Continuous injury surveillance system and the enforcement of legal limit is recommended to minimize preventable incidents.