Reports from Taipei Medical University Highlight Recent Findings in Risk Management (Risk factors for crash involvement in older motorcycle riders)

Insurance Weekly News

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Investigators publish new report on Risk Management. According to news reporting from Taipei, Taiwan, by VerticalNews journalists, research stated, "A prospective cohort study was conducted to identify risk and protective factors for crash involvement in older motorcyclists. Over a 1-year study period from August 2013 to July 2014, study participants were recruited from local community centers of five cities in Taiwan."

Financial support for this research came from Ministry of Technology and Science.

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Taipei Medical University, "People aged >= 60 years who rode a motorcycle at least once per week were eligible and were invited to participate in the study. Among 256 older riders who completed the baseline assessment and at least one of the four follow-up assessments, 79 (33.7%) experienced a motorcycle crash over the study period. Results of the proportional hazards model showed that after controlling for age, gender, and riding distance, older riders who had sustained hearing impairment (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.58; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.30-5,15), rode a motorcycle at speeds of >= 41 km/h (HR = 2.31; 95% CI, 1.26-4.23), and had experienced a motorcycle crash in the past year (HR = 1.81; 95% CI, 1.06-3.09) were more likely to be involved in a crash, compared to their counterparts. Conversely, older riders who were obese (HR = 0.43; 95% CI, 0.22-0.82) were less likely to be involved in a crash than those with a normal weight, while longer functional reach distances (HR = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.93-0.99) and higher Tinetti balance scores (HR = 0.79; 95% CI, 0.69-0.91) were associated with a reduced risk of crash involvement. Among older people riding a motorcycle as their primary source of transportation, several factors associated with the occurrence of motorcycle crashes were identified."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "Restrictions and modifications of these risk factors may help design effective safety interventions for reducing crash and injury risks of this increasing riding population."

For more information on this research see: Risk factors for crash involvement in older motorcycle riders. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2018;111():109-114. Accident Analysis and Prevention can be contacted at: Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, England. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Accident Analysis and Prevention - www.journals.elsevier.com/accident-analysis-and-prevention/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting M.R. Lin, Taipei Medical University, Coll Nursing, Master Program Long Term Care, Taipei, Taiwan. Additional authors for this research include C.Y. Chen and S.J. Chen.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2017.11.006. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Keywords for this news article include: Taipei, Taiwan, Asia, Risk Management, Risk and Prevention, Taipei Medical University.