Characteristics of Injuries in Motorcycle-to-Barrier Collisions in Maryland

Abstract

Motorcycle-to-barrier collisions are more serious than many other motorcycle crash modes, such as collisions with only the ground or passenger cars. To identify the potential need for design improvements to traffic barriers to reduce the severity of these crashes, the injuries incurred during these collisions must first be understood better. The objective of the study was to determine the type, relative frequency, and severity of injuries incurred in motorcycle-to-barrier crashes in Maryland. The Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES) was used to analyze motorcycle crashes in Maryland from 2006 to 2008. CODES links police-reported crashes to hospital data, providing detailed information about injuries incurred during collision. This study focused on four crash modes for motorcyclists: single-vehicle barrier collisions, single-vehicle fixed-object collisions, multivehicle collisions, and single-vehicle overturn-only collisions. The most commonly injured body regions for all motorcycle crashes were the upper or lower extremities or both; more than 70% of motorcyclists involved in crashes analyzed suffered an injury to the upper or lower extremities or both. Motorcyclists involved in barrier collisions were 2.15 (95% CI: 1.17 to 3.92) times more likely to suffer serious injury to the thorax than were motorcyclists involved in overturn-only collisions. Additionally, the risk of rib fracture was increased for barrier and other fixed-object collisions, compared with that of multivehicle collisions. The relative risk of rib fracture compared with risk in multivehicle collisions was 1.99 (95% CI: 1.17 to 3.40) in barrier collisions and 2.32 (95% CI: 1.62 to 3.33) in other fixed-object collisions.