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Siebert, F. W., Albers, D., Naing, U. A., Perego, P., & Santikarn, C. (2019). Patterns of motorcycle helmet
use – A naturalistic observation study in Myanmar. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 124, 146–150.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2019.01.011
Felix Wilhelm Siebert, Deike Albers, U Aung Naing, Paolo Perego,
Chamaiparn Santikarn
Patterns of motorcycle helmet use – A
naturalistic observation study in Myanmar
Accepted manuscript (Postprint)Journal article |
This is the Accepted Manuscript of the following article published by Elsevier in Accident Analysis &
Prevention [11. January 2019]:
Siebert, F. W., Albers, D., Naing, U. A., Perego, P., & Santikarn, C. (2019). Patterns of motorcycle
helmet use–A naturalistic observation study in Myanmar. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 124, 146-
150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2019.01.011
This manuscript is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the final, authoritative
version of the article.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0
International License, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Patterns of motorcycle helmet use – a naturalistic observation study in Myanmar
Felix Wilhelm Siebert*a, Deike Albersb, U Aung Naingc, Paolo Peregod, & Chamaiparn Santikarne
* Corresponding Author
a Department of Psychology and Ergonomics, Technische Universität Berlin,
Marchstraße 12, 10587 Berlin, Germany, [email protected]
b Technical University of Munich, Arcisstraße 21, 80333 Munich, Germany,
deike.alber[email protected]
c Myanmar Organization for Road Safety, People's Park, U Wisara Road, Yangon, Myanmar,
d Catholic University of Milan, Largo Agostino Gemelli, 1, 20123 Milan, Italy,
psicotraffico@unicatt.it
e World Health Organization, No. 403, Shwe Taung Kyar Street, 11201 Yangon, Myanmar,
santikarnc@who.int
ABSTRACT
Developing countries are subject to increased motorization, particularly in the number of
motorcycles. As helmet use is critical to the safety of motorcycle riders, the goal of this study
was to identify observable patterns of helmet use, which allow a more accurate assessment of
helmet use in developing countries. In a video based observation study, 124,784 motorcycle
riders were observed at seven observation sites throughout Myanmar. Recorded videos were
coded for helmet use, number of riders on the motorcycle, rider position, gender, and time of
day. Generally, motorcycle helmet use in Myanmar was found to be low with only 51.5%
percent of riders wearing a helmet. Helmet use was highest for drivers (68.1%) and decreased
for every additional passenger. It was lowest for children standing on the floorboard of the
motorcycle (11.3%). During the day, helmet use followed a unimodal distribution, with the
highest use observed during the late morning and lowest use observed in the early morning
and late afternoon. Helmet use varied significantly between observation sites, ranging from
74.8% in Mandalay to 26.9% in Pakokku. In Mandalay, female riders had a higher helmet use
than male riders, and helmet use decreased drastically on a national holiday in the city.
Helmet use of motorcycle riders in Myanmar follows distinct patterns. Knowledge of these
patterns can be used to design more precise helmet use evaluations and guide traffic law
policy and police enforcement measures. Video based observation proved to be an efficient
tool to collect helmet use data.
Keywords: motorcycle; helmet use; naturalistic observation; developing countries
1. INTRODUCTION
Road traffic crashes cause 1.2 million fatalities and more than 75 million non-fatal injuries
each year and are the leading cause of death for young people between 15 and 29 years (Vos
et al., 2017; World Health Organization, 2015). A disproportionately high share of road traffic
fatalities occurs in low- and middle-income countries, an imbalance that is even more striking
in the light of their relatively small number of registered motorized vehicles compared to
high-income countries (World Health Organization, 2015). An increasing motorization in
developing countries is projected to aggravate this problem (Nantulya & Reich, 2002; Peden,
2004; Vos et al., 2017). To engage this global road safety challenge, the United Nations have
proclaimed the Decade of Action for Road Safety and established the Sustainable
Development Goals, to support measures that can reduce road traffic related fatalities and
injuries (United Nations, 2010; United Nations, 2015). The World Health Organization
(WHO) is actively supporting this process by tracking key factors of progress in the Decade
of Action for Road Safety through the publication of the Global Status Report on Road Safety
(GSRRS) (World Health Organization, 2015). One of the factors contributing to the high
number of road traffic fatalities in low- and middle- income countries is their high share of so
called vulnerable road users (VRU), i.e. pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists who lack an
“outer protective cell” and are therefore vulnerable in case of a collision (Otte, Jänsch, &
Haasper, 2012; World Health Organization, 2015).
Motorcyclists represent an especially vulnerable subgroup of VRU, as they sustain the most
severe injuries due to their relatively high speed. However, this prevalence for severe injuries
can be mitigated by using motorcycle helmets (Otte et al., 2012; World Health Organization,
2006; World Health Organization, 2017). Helmets can lower the risk of fatal injuries of riders
by 42% and reduce the risk of head injury by 69% (Liu et al., 2004). It is therefore of great
importance to collect detailed data about motorcycle helmet use, especially in countries with a
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