Important considerations missing from study of motorcycle rider conspicuity and crash related injury.
Dear Editor,
Although any study looking at how to reduce motorcycle casualties is to be
welcomed, I feel the study from Wells et al has several significant flaws.
The authors do not provide any information relating to the type of
accident the 'case' patients were involved in. In particular, there is no
indication whether the motorcyclist was at fault in the accident, or even
whether another vehicle was involved. In these instances, the visibility
of the motorcyclist is likely to be irrelevant.
Similarly, for the 25.7% of accidents which occurred at night,
clothing and helmet colour would have been irrelevant in terms of
visibility. However, these accidents appear to have been included when
analysing the effect of clothing and helmet colour.
There is also no information given about the accident history of the
control group, although this is a potential confounding factor. A
significant proportion of motorcyclists will be involved in an accident at
some point in their riding career, and it is highly likely that some of
those identified as controls will have had an accident in the past. It is
not clear whether such riders were excluded from the study. If this was
not the case, then any comparisions drawn against this group will not be
valid.
The type of motorcycle being ridden is also not mentioned.
Motorcycles and motorcyclists are far from a homogeneous group. Riders of
'race replica' machines are generally a very different group to those
riding 'custom/cruiser' style motorcycles. Many years of personal
experience suggests that the type of machine ridden is a better indicator
of riding style and risk-taking than factors such as age, income or
education. This is a significant factor, which does not appear to have
been given sufficient attention.
Before advocating 'high visibility' clothing, we must also consider
what it actually is, and whether it will make a difference. As being
visible depends on standing out from the background, no one colour is
'high visibility' in all situations. Indeed, in our increasingly garish
urban landscape, plain dark colours may actually offer the greatest
contrast. Finally, no amount of high visibility clothing will help if road
users do not look before manoeuvring. The fact that the majority of
accidents in this study took place at low speeds in good conditions
suggests that inattention, rather than inconspicuity, may have played a
greater part.
Competing interests:
The author has a black motorcycle helmet and dark blue/ black leathers.
Rapid Response:
Important considerations missing from study of motorcycle rider conspicuity and crash related injury.
Dear Editor,
Although any study looking at how to reduce motorcycle casualties is to be
welcomed, I feel the study from Wells et al has several significant flaws.
The authors do not provide any information relating to the type of
accident the 'case' patients were involved in. In particular, there is no
indication whether the motorcyclist was at fault in the accident, or even
whether another vehicle was involved. In these instances, the visibility
of the motorcyclist is likely to be irrelevant.
Similarly, for the 25.7% of accidents which occurred at night,
clothing and helmet colour would have been irrelevant in terms of
visibility. However, these accidents appear to have been included when
analysing the effect of clothing and helmet colour.
There is also no information given about the accident history of the
control group, although this is a potential confounding factor. A
significant proportion of motorcyclists will be involved in an accident at
some point in their riding career, and it is highly likely that some of
those identified as controls will have had an accident in the past. It is
not clear whether such riders were excluded from the study. If this was
not the case, then any comparisions drawn against this group will not be
valid.
The type of motorcycle being ridden is also not mentioned.
Motorcycles and motorcyclists are far from a homogeneous group. Riders of
'race replica' machines are generally a very different group to those
riding 'custom/cruiser' style motorcycles. Many years of personal
experience suggests that the type of machine ridden is a better indicator
of riding style and risk-taking than factors such as age, income or
education. This is a significant factor, which does not appear to have
been given sufficient attention.
Before advocating 'high visibility' clothing, we must also consider
what it actually is, and whether it will make a difference. As being
visible depends on standing out from the background, no one colour is
'high visibility' in all situations. Indeed, in our increasingly garish
urban landscape, plain dark colours may actually offer the greatest
contrast. Finally, no amount of high visibility clothing will help if road
users do not look before manoeuvring. The fact that the majority of
accidents in this study took place at low speeds in good conditions
suggests that inattention, rather than inconspicuity, may have played a
greater part.
Competing interests:
The author has a black motorcycle helmet and dark blue/ black leathers.
Competing interests: No competing interests