No abstract

Motorcycle crash fatalities in the United States have been increasing since 1997, when the total number of fatalities reached a record low. Motorcycle training programs were enacted before this rise, and many studies have aimed to show their effectiveness. The objective of this study is to review and synthesize the results of existing research on the effectiveness of motorcycle education courses and different licensing procedures. The effectiveness of programs is examined through the effect training has on accident rates, violation rates, and personal protective equipment use found through past research. Research to date has not consistently supported the notion that training is either effective or ineffective. Some studies have demonstrated that accident and traffic violation rates are lower for trained riders than for untrained riders, whereas others have demonstrated that they are higher for trained riders. Training increases the use of personal protective equipment among motorcyclists. Motorcycle licensing procedures have been shown to have different effects on accident rates. Lower accident rates have been observed in areas with stricter regulations for obtaining a license. The studies vary greatly in both the methods used for comparison and the rigor of their evaluation methodology. No standards for evaluation exist. The findings of these previous studies may be more a reflection of the methods used to evaluate motorcycle training than the effectiveness of training itself.

Motorcycle collisions with barriers have been shown to be much more severe than other vehicle collisions with barriers. The impact of barrier type on injury severity for motorcyclists has been greatly debated. There is growing concern about the risk associated with motorcycles colliding with cable barriers, although to date no definitive evidence has shown that cable barriers are indeed more harmful to motorcyclists than other barrier types. This study analyzed 951 motorcycle–barrier crashes involving 1,047 riders from 2003 to 2008 in North Carolina, Texas, and New Jersey to determine the effect of barrier type on injury severity in crashes. Barrier types were determined by using photographs of the reported crash site. There were 546 W-beam guardrail collisions, 358 concrete barrier collisions, and 47 cable barrier collisions observed. Of the people involved in W-beam collisions with known injury severity, 40.1% were fatally or severely injured. Likewise, 40.3% of people involved in cable barrier collisions with known injury severity were fatally or severely injured. The odds of severe injury in W-beam crashes to concrete barrier crashes were 1.164 (95% confidence interval: 0.889 to 1.524) for all riders involved in the barrier crashes analyzed, which was not significant at the 0.05 level. However, if the rider was helmeted, the odds of severe injury in a W-beam guardrail collision were 1.419 (95% confidence interval: 1.024 to 1.966) times as great as the odds of severe injury in concrete barrier collisions, a factor found to be significant at the 0.05 level. For both helmeted and unhelmeted riders, there was no significant difference in the odds of severe injury between the cable barrier collisions and the W-beam guardrail collisions. However, a smaller number of cable barrier collisions than W-beam guardrail collisions were included in the analysis.

In collisions with traffic barriers, motorcyclists have a much higher risk of fatality than other road users. Many databases focus on the vehicle when reporting the sequence of events; however, in motorcycle collisions, the vehicle and rider often separate and follow different trajectories. The aim of this study was to determine how rider trajectory influences injury outcome. Rider trajectories in barrier collisions were determined through an analysis of police accident reports from New Jersey (2007 to 2011). Seven trajectories were identified: upright, sliding, vaulting, ejected (same side landing), ejected (side unknown), ejected into barrier, and separated before barrier impact. Google Earth Street View was used to verify the barrier type in each collision. Of the 442 single-vehicle motorcycle-to-barrier collisions reported in New Jersey, police accident reports were analyzed for 430 crashes and the barriers were identified for 342 of these crashes (77.4% of all crashes). In the analyzed crashes, 361 riders and passengers were involved. In these crashes, riders most often struck the barrier upright without being ejected from the motorcycle. Barrier type and occurrence on an entrance or exit ramp were found to have a significant effect on the distribution of rider trajectory outcomes. Additionally, being ejected from the motorcycle after striking the barrier increased the odds of serious injury by 2.91 times (95% confidence interval: 1.31 to 6.46).