Details of motorcycle accidents and their impact on healthcare costs

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Of overall traffic accidents in 2011 in Turkey, 7.58% (n=2 1,107) were motorcycle accidents. Motorcycle accidents and their impact on healthcare costs are investigated in our study. METHODS: Motorcycle accidents that occurred with/without a collision between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2011 were studied prospectively through the inspection of patients visiting the Emergency Service. The healthcare costs relevant to each person injured in a motorcycle accident were investigated via forms. Data were analyzed using frequencies, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann-Whitney U, and chi-square tests on the SPSS v16.0 program. RESULTS: Ninety-one people involved in accidents, with a mean age of 28.47 years, were studied. The average healthcare expenditure for the 91 patients studied between reception and discharge was US$253.02 (median, US$55.90; range, US$11.52 - 7137.19). According to our study, there was no definitive correlation between the healthcare costs and the time of the accident, motorcycle type, nature of the road surface, protective equipment, weather, or daylight. CONCLUSION: According to the current study, the risk of an accident increases with young adults. Concordantly, healthcare costs increase. Thus, it is important that the legal rules with respect to the age and education necessary for receiving a license to operate a motorcycle should be redefined, and if necessary, regulated.