Motorcycle safety (4)

8 July 2013

Concern for the galloping growth in the number of motorcycle related accidents over the last few years, as well as interest over what concerned agencies (particularly government) have done to make motorcycle riding safer, motivated the writing of this series on “Motorcycle Safety”. Today’s column features the fourth and penultimate part of the series, with parts 1-3 featured in the past three columns.

In as far as government agencies are concerned, it seems that MMDA is the one that has somehow sustained the implementation of concrete steps that may have trimmed down motorcycle fatalities/injuries during the last two years. Among these concrete steps were the initiation of the “Metro Manila Transport and Traffic Management Summit” that produced the “MMTTS Declaration 2010”; the release of the 2011 MMARAS report; the 60 kph speed limit imposed in some major roads; and, the provision of blue lanes for motorcycles.

The DPWH’s “Traffic Accident Recording and Analysis System” which is tasked with maintaining a database of all traffic accidents/crashes occurring outside Metro Manila seems to be active. However, my search failed to find an Annual Accident Report (supposed to be prepared by TARAS) in the web.

The DOH meanwhile developed and implemented the “Online National Electronic Injury Surveillance System” that collects injury and fatality data from hospitals nationwide. ONEISS forwards the data to the “Philippine Network for Injury Data Management System” which harmonizes the data with that of the other (i.e. TARAS and MMARAS) sources to improve the accuracy of reports on traffic related injuries/fatalities.

The DOH also published in its UHMIS website the ONEISS findings for Quarters 1-4, CY 2012. The year’s “Injury Fact Sheets” report reflected a total of 32 motorcycle fatalities (DOA) for the year, coming from 65 to 86 (or 3.6%-4.7%) of the 1,821 hospitals in the country. Out of the 32 that died, only one was wearing a helmet.

The private sector also had participation in the form of two studies, the first of which, titled “Analysis Motorcycle Accidents Based on Environmental and Personal Factors” and published in 2011, was done by a team from the IE Department of DLSU. They concluded that three variables, namely, “age, weather and junction type” have significant influence on whether a motor cycle accident can, or cannot, occur.

The second study related to motorcycle accidents/injuries was part of an initiative of the Philippine Orthopaedic Association which launched a Road Safety Program. The study, titled “Rash of Motorcycle Accidents: A Growing National Health Concern”, was conducted and published in the Acta Medica Philippina (vol. 46 No.2) sometime in 2012 by Dr. Mario B. Geronilla (of the Department of Orthopedics, College of Medicine and PGH, UP Manila) and Dr. Joseph Keath T. Sison (of the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City).

The study’s objective was four fold, namely: establish a profile of motorcycle road accidents; establish the prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries, etc.; determine the factors causing the increase in motorcycle accidents; and, come up with recommendations for the prevention of motorcycle accidents.

To achieve these objectives the authors made an analysis of the clinical records of motorcycle accident victims from three hospitals (PGH, Philippine Orthopaedic Center, and East Avenue Medical Center) considered as the main referral centers for such accidents in Metro Manila as well as the other regions surrounding it, believing that the data they access would represent large urban as well as suburban areas. They also obtained additional data from the LTO, MMDA, the MMARAS data from 2005-2008, and POA Trauma Registry.

The results of the study indicated that: almost half of motorcycle crash victims belonged to the 21-35 age group; most fatalities occurred at 9 in the evening, while non-fatal injuries commonly occurred at around 4 in the morning; the motorcycle proved to be the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries to motorist; half of the musculoskeletal injury cases involve the lower extremity, with the other half involving the spine, lower extremity and brachial plexus injury; 54% of the brachial plexus injury happened under the influence of liquor; most of the joint injuries are with the knees, wrist, hip and ankle.

The study concluded with the following recommendations: creation of a unified national database (and registry) for motorcycle accidents; road safety education done in the elementary and high school levels; provision of motorcycle lanes; designation of trauma centers to ensure fast and proper treatment of accident victims; and, establish an effective referral system among hospitals for the efficient transport and treatment of patients.

In as far as the user groups are concerned, there seem to be a large number of motorcycle clubs in the country, gauging from results of a Google search. There are private clubs that are even combined into various federations, with one (National Federation of Motorcycle Clubs) even celebrating its 18^th annual national convention on April 30 last year. There are also clubs formed by the various motorcycle manufacturers. Based on a review of some of these clubs web/social sites, it seems that these groups are well aware of the need for riders to practice safe driving. Some even conduct safety seminars, and at least one group (Federation of motorcycle clubs in Mindanao) even posted a newspaper clipping regarding the “Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013." It cannot be established however (from the web) how many of the millions of bike users are reached by these groups seemingly composed of responsible bikers.

As regards manufacturers and traders of motorcycles in the country, no written material has so far been sourced (aside from their organizing their own clubs where safe riding is emphasized) regarding their efforts related to advancing the safety aspects of the vehicle itself. There have been, however, developments reportedly done abroad by manufacturers regarding airbags that would stay with the rider when thrown off his bike during a crash, as well as a roll bar (around and over a rider) that would fly off with the biker and which would serve as protection upon making contact with hard surfaces (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety). These developments (and ultimately the protective gear) however may not be appropriate for the Philippines as their cost reportedly could run into thousands of dollars, which is unaffordable to the local riders.

Due to space limitations, the final section of this article will be featured as part 5 my next column. Meanwhile, comments/reactions will be appreciated and can be sent through this writer’s email (sl3.mekaniko@gmail.com) or through this writer’s blog (http://mekaniko-sl3.blogspot.com).