Motorcyclists are 30 to 35 times more likely to die in a crash than other vehicle occupants. In 2012, among active duty Service members, the rate of motorcycle deaths (6.5 per 100,000 person-years) approached that of non-motorcycle motor vehicle crashes (6.7 per 100,000 person-years) despite only 15 percent of Service members reporting riding motorcycles. Purpose: The purpose of this study was (1) to describe motorcycle crash-related injuries from safety report data and (2) to assess the effect of alcohol and helmet use on risk of death due to motorcycle crash-related injuries among active duty Army personnel. Methods: Data on motorcycle traffic crashes from 1995 to 2014 were obtained from the Army Safety Management Information System and person-years were obtained from the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch. Trends in motorcycle injury and fatality rates, descriptive statistics, and multivariable logistic regression were calculated. Results: The rate of motorcycle traffic crashes increased from 2.7 per 100,000 person-years in 1995 to 5.8 per 100,000 person-years in 2014. Two-thirds of motorcycle traffic crashes resulted in injuries requiring a lost workday; 17% resulted in fatality. Of the fatal motorcycle traffic crashes, 79% of riders sustained injuries to the head and neck, with 60% of fatal injuries categorized as fractures, 13% concussions, and 7% abrasions/lacerations. Motorcycle traffic crashes involving operators who had used alcohol had 3 times higher odds of fatality than those who did not use alcohol (OR [95% CI]: 3.2 [2.1-4.5]), controlling for operator and crash characteristics. Operators who did not wear a helmet had 1.9 times higher odds of fatality than those who did wear a helmet (OR [95% CI]: 1.9 [1.2-2.9]), controlling for the same factors. Conclusions: There are a number of modifiable risk factors (i.e., alcohol use, helmet use, riding at night, and sleep) associated with motorcycle traffic fatalities among Soldiers.


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    Title :

    Factors Associated with Motorcycle Traffic Crash Fatalities among Army Soldiers, 1995-2014


    Contributors:
    C. A. Rappole (author) / M. Canham-Chervak (author) / B. Taylor (author) / B. H. Jones (author)

    Publication date :

    2018


    Size :

    37 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




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