COSTS OF INJURIES RESULTING FROM MOTORCYCLE CRASHES: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Analysts reviewed 25 motorcycle safety studies, mostly from the 1990s, on the costs of injuries resulting from motorcycle crashes. Most of the studies employed data from a state, locality, or medical institution, and seven linked data from multiple sources - e.g., police crash reports and hospital records - with varying degrees of success. Other studies drew data from multiple sources in computing aggregate estimates of crash costs. Most of the studies focused on either the benefits of wearing helmets or the impact of state helmet laws. These consistently found that helmet use reduced the fatality rate, the probability and severity of head injuries, the cost of medical treatment, the length of hospital stay, the necessity for special medical treatments, and the probability of long-term disability. A number of studies examined the question of who pays for medical costs. Only slightly more than half of motorcycle crash victims have private health insurance coverage. For uninsured patients, a majority of medical costs are paid by the government. A few studies examined the frequency of alcohol use by motorcycle crash victims. They found high rates of alcohol use and intoxication, particularly among unhelmeted crash victims. While the literature has widely explored acute medical costs, research is sparse in the areas of long-term medical and work-loss costs, which are potentially much greater. More research is needed on these subjects to provide a more comprehensive picture of the full cost of motorcycle crash injuries.

• Record URL:
  http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/motorcycle/Motorcycle_HTML/index.html
• Corporate Authors:

  Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation

  11720 Beltsville Drive, Suite 900
  Calverton, MD  United States  20705-3102

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  Office of Traffic Injury Control Programs, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Lawrence, B A
  • Max, W
  • Miller, T R
• Publication Date: 2003-2

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Tables;
• Pagination: 106 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Costs; Drunk driving; Government liability; Injuries; Injury severity; Insurance; Literature reviews; Medical treatment; Motorcycle crashes; Motorcycle helmets
• Uncontrolled Terms: Long term costs; Medical costs
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Law; Safety and Human Factors; I84: Personal Injuries;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00943460
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-809 242
• Contract Numbers: DTNH22-98-C-05167
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jun 23 2003 12:00AM