Evaluating the Risk Factors in Fatal Accidents involving Motorcycle – Case Study on Motorcycle Accidents in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Motorcycles comprise nearly 30% of the traffic flow in most Sri Lankan highways. The rapid increase in motorcycle usage has led to a significant increase in the number of motorcycle related accidents and fatalities. Motorcycle related accidents account for nearly 40% of total road accidents in recent years. However, the current studies related to motorcycle accidents are only based on the basic statistical data analysis which does not comprehensively evaluate the risk factors related to such accidents, especially for fatal accidents. This study aims to evaluate the level of risk for factors involved in motorcycle related fatal accidents. In this study, accident data were analyzed under four categories. The stepwise binary logistic regression approach was adopted to identify the risk ratio of each evaluated parameter. The findings show that the motorcycle fatal accident risk is higher for accidents involving heavy vehicles, head-on collisions, and collision with hard objects. There were significant levels of accidents involving motorcyclists and pedestrians as well, where the highest fatality risk was at mid-block segments of the roadway. Findings would be useful to identify effective measures to improve the motorcycle riders' safety in Sri Lanka.

Identification of risk factors for road traffic accidents using injured drivers: a cross sectional study conducted in Sri-Lanka

“…There is also a dire need for the quality of motorcycles to be assessed before importation. 10 The majority of vehicles had a speed range of 31-45 km/h (32.5%) but the speed range from 46-60 km/h also showed a significant number of RTAs (27.8%). A study conducted by Pathak et al proved that vehicles which had a speed range of 40-60 km/h (37.9%) were responsible for higher percentages of accidents.…”

Environmental Factors Associated with Severe Motorcycle Crash Injury in University Neighborhoods: A Multicenter Study in Taiwan

“…A possible explanation is that traffic in university neighborhoods is frequently chaotic because of the large number of pedestrians and illegally parked motor vehicles. Motorcyclists in developing countries such as Malaysia [ 47 ], Pakistan [ 60 ], and Sri Lanka [ 61 ] face similar environments; studies from these countries have also reported single-motorcycle crashes as a risk factor for severe or fatal injury. Drunk driving, drowsy driving, and commercial transportation were also reported relating to single-motorcycle crashes [ 62 , 63 , 64 ].…”

An assessment of measures to reduce injuries and mortality among motorcyclists: A cross-sectional survey-based study

“…Young motorcyclists are involved in accidents, and the risk of death increased with their age. [ 25 ] Prior studies have reported that RTAs are more frequent during the summer months,[ 26 ] and on weekends, with rates being lower on the holidays. [ 27 ] In this study, more than half of participants had a personal or family history of RTAs, which is consistent with other published reports.…”