Alcohol, Injuries, and Outcomes Comparing Injured Moped and Motorcycle Drivers

Abstract

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Elevated blood alcohol impacts hospital mortality following motorcycle injury: A National Trauma Data Bank analysis

“…However, another study reported a lower percentage of patients sustained severe injury and lower frequency of specific body injuries including cere- bral contusion, lung contusion, lumbar vertebral fracture, and extremity fractures in those who tested positive for BAC [14] . The injury pattern and severity seen in MCC is likely related to lack of helmet use and high speed [22,[24][25][26] . A Cochrane re-view of studies concluded that helmets reduce the risk of head injury by approximately 69% and death by around 42% [18] .…”

Moped and Motorcycle Trauma: Injury Prevention and an Opportunity to Intervene

“…This subset, when injured, is documented to be more likely intoxicated and less likely to have em-ployment or health insurance than MC trauma patients. 2 Our MP patients similarly had increased rates of alcohol use relative to MC trauma patients in the studied population. Although not unexpected, given that under prior legislation, those with suspected licenses because of driving under the influence could still legally operate an MP, this nonetheless contributes to the total healthcare liability in a theoretically avoidable way.…”

“…Ultimately, the data and respective literature demonstrate that more stringent helmet laws increase compliance, thereby reducing the risk of head injury, medical resource utilization, and death. 1,2,4 Our study is limited by its single-center retrospective nature and the information attainable from the database. Specifically, we were unable to distinguish between MPs and scooters, rider versus passenger status, and the number of riders per vehicle.…”

Moped Collisions: Low Speed and High Impact—A Single-Center Review

“…2 It has been observed that when compared with motorcycle drivers, moped operators are more likely to be intoxicated and less likely to have employment and insurance, thus contributing to the health care cost burden. 4 Although this study does not perform a formal cost analysis of moped-related traumatic injuries, even a conservative estimate of $2000/ hospital day of the 225 patients admitted for an average of 6.68 days totals more than $900,000/year and does not include emergency room treatment, procedures, ventilator, or ICU costs. In addition to a lack of regulations for safety gear, such as a helmet, there are also no requirements to register the vehicles, document appropriate maintenance, or limit operation to roadways…”