Helmet Use and Effectiveness in Reducing the Severity of Head Injuries in Thailand

Head injuries due to motorcycle accidents are the main cause of death and disability among motorcycle users in Thailand.  Wearing a helmet is well known as one of the most effective ways to reduce severity of head injuries due to motorcycle crashes.  Although the helmet act for motorcyclists was enacted in Thailand since 1994, the rate of helmet use and the rate of head injuries and fatality due to motorcycle accidents are not reduced.  In this study, the field survey was conducted to observe the helmet use in Bangkok and other three major regional provinces.  The observation shows that the helmet use rate is considerably low across study areas.  Age, location, time of day, and seating position significantly affect the helmet use, while gender and day of week do not show any effect.  The logit model was also used to evaluate the factors affecting helmet use based on the Injury Surveillance (IS) data of motorcycle accident victims.  The results indicate that the victims in the pillion position are less likely to use helmet, and those who ride during the nighttime, regardless of the seating position, tend not to wear a helmet.  To evaluate the effectiveness of helmet use and other related factors to reduce the severity of head injuries, the ordered logit regression technique was applied to the hospital-based data, using the patient data suffering from head injuries due to road crashes.  It is found that helmet can reduce the severity of head injuries for motorcycle crash victims.  The probability of fatality due to head injuries is reduced by 38% for motorcyclists wearing helmets. For motorcycle riders, helmets are found to be effective to protect against head injuries particularly for those riding under alcohol influence as the probability of death could be reduced by 43%. Motorcycle pillions without helmets are more likely to have either serious or fatal head injuries. The results also indicate that a 58% reduction in the probability of fatality from head injuries is associated with the use of helmets by motorcycle passengers.