Effect of motorcycle rider education on changes in risk behaviours and motorcycle‐related injuries in rural Thailand

Abstract

SummaryA community-based programme for motorcycle rider education was provided for motorcyclists in all villages of 3 randomly selected subdistricts in Mae Sot District, Tak Province, northern Thailand, between January and March 1995. To determine the extent of changes in risk-taking behaviours, we conducted an interview survey of motorcyclists in 3 villages selected by systematic sampling from the 3 intervention subdistricts and in 3 control (without intervention) villages for comparison in March 1997, 2 years after the programme. Motorcyclists in the intervention villages (69.7%) were significantly more likely to have valid licences than those in the control villages (46.5%). The proportion of motorcyclists who always or often wore helmets was significantly greater in the intervention sample (46.0%) than in the control sample (20.5%). In 1994, the annual incidence rate of motorcycle-related injuries was slightly higher in the intervention areas than in the control areas. Following the education programme, the injury rates for 1995 and 1996 were significantly lower in the intervention than in the control population. The annual number and rate of fatal motorcycle injuries decreased after the intervention although there was no significant difference between the two populations. Motorcycle rider education may be a promising intervention for prevention of motorcyclerelated injuries in rural areas where road safety measures, particularly enforcement activities, are commonly limited.keywords injury, motorcycle rider education, Thailand correspondence Witaya Swaddiwudhipong,

Risky behaviors among motorcycling adolescents in Italy

“…[13][14][15] These reported behaviors were considerably lower, for example, than the 95% reported in New Zealand among young motorcyclists, 4 82% in a U.S. trauma center among patients admitted after motorcycle crashes, 16 the 71% and 62.8% among those queried, respectively, Յ15 years of age at a popular recreation site, 17 and in a nationally representative sample of students in grades 9-12, 18 respectively. Moreover, prevalence in our study was higher than the results observed in Thailand, where 46% of the motorcyclists wore helmets after an educational program, 19 and 13.1% among injured motorcyclists aged Յ20 years, 13 and 3% of Australian children aged Ͻ 15 years at the time of injury. 8 A possible explanation of these differences is sociocultural and environmental factors as well as police surveillance and punishment of transgressions.…”

“…Multiple logistic regression for the independent association between several variables and motorcycling after consuming alcohol, showed that the odds for operating a motorcycle after consuming alcohol were almost 10 times higher in adolescents fatigued while driving (95% CI 1.22-73.34) and 4 times in males (95% CI 1.88-9.39), in those using cell phone while driving (95% CI 1.97-10. 19), and in current smokers (95% CI 1.32-9.93) (Model 3 in Table II).…”

Traffic risk behavior and perceptions of Thai motorcyclists: A case study

“…Tanaboriboon (2006) [32] found that 13.8% of Thai males and females wore their safety helmets but this figure decreased to 7.0% when intoxicated. Swaddiwudhipong et al (1998) [33] succeeded in a village-based motorcycle rider education program in North Thailand in modifying participants' behavior in wearing a helmet and having a valid license. Being an interventioncontrol and before (1995)-after (1997) research design, the study found lower injuries and less fatal injuries from motorcycle road accidents.…”

Barriers to, and factors associated, with observed motorcycle helmet use in Vietnam

“…Legislation also has an influence on helmet use, yet its effect is higher in higher income countries where compliance reached nearly 100% (Ulmer and Preusser, 2002;Houston, 2007;Servadei et al, 2003;Guillen Grima et al, 1995); as compared to low and middle-income countries (Ichikawa et al, 2003;Hung et al, 2006). Research in Thailand (Swaddiwudhipong et al, 1998) showed motorcyclist education increased helmet use. The lack of comfort, a negative social perception and the inconvenience of helmets particularly in relation to storage of helmets when not riding, have further been posited as reasons for lower helmet use (Guillen Grima et al, 1995;WHO, 2006).…”