TY - JOUR
T1 - The problem of the pillion rider
T2 - India's helmet law and New Delhi's exemption
AU - Swaroop, Mamta
AU - Marie Siddiqui, Selma
AU - Sagar, Sushma
AU - Crandall, Marie L.
PY - 2014/5/1
Y1 - 2014/5/1
N2 - Background In India, motorized two-wheeler (MTW) road traffic accidents injure or kill 72,000 women annually. Before the Motor Vehicle Act of 1988, which required mandatory helmet use for MTW riders, a study found 0.6% of all MTW pillions (backseat passengers) were helmeted. Citing religious protests to the legislation, Delhi's high court exempted the city's 12 million women from the law. We hypothesize that currently male pillions use helmets more frequently than females, and that overall pillion helmet usage has increased over the last 20 y. Methods Continuous video was recorded in half-hour blocks at four locations in Delhi on separate days, totaling 8 hours of high- and low-volume traffic. Videos were reviewed with at least two reviewers extracting the number of MTW pillions, as well as their gender, approximate age, and helmet usage. Results Of 4010 pillions identified, 63.8% were male, 32.4% female, and 3.3% children. Among males, there were significantly more helmeted pillions (88.4%, P < 0.001); among females, there were significantly more unhelmeted pillions (99.4%, P < 0.001). Among unhelmeted pillions, significantly more were female (81.4%) than male (P < 0.001). Current overall pillion helmet use is significantly higher than historical rate (P < 0.001). Conclusions The significantly higher male pillion helmet usage compared with females indicates Delhi's helmet law is associated with increased compliance among those who fall under its jurisdiction. This augments the growing body of evidence that mandatory helmet laws are efficacious, thus repealing the exemption of women is an important step in increasing female pillion helmet usage.
AB - Background In India, motorized two-wheeler (MTW) road traffic accidents injure or kill 72,000 women annually. Before the Motor Vehicle Act of 1988, which required mandatory helmet use for MTW riders, a study found 0.6% of all MTW pillions (backseat passengers) were helmeted. Citing religious protests to the legislation, Delhi's high court exempted the city's 12 million women from the law. We hypothesize that currently male pillions use helmets more frequently than females, and that overall pillion helmet usage has increased over the last 20 y. Methods Continuous video was recorded in half-hour blocks at four locations in Delhi on separate days, totaling 8 hours of high- and low-volume traffic. Videos were reviewed with at least two reviewers extracting the number of MTW pillions, as well as their gender, approximate age, and helmet usage. Results Of 4010 pillions identified, 63.8% were male, 32.4% female, and 3.3% children. Among males, there were significantly more helmeted pillions (88.4%, P < 0.001); among females, there were significantly more unhelmeted pillions (99.4%, P < 0.001). Among unhelmeted pillions, significantly more were female (81.4%) than male (P < 0.001). Current overall pillion helmet use is significantly higher than historical rate (P < 0.001). Conclusions The significantly higher male pillion helmet usage compared with females indicates Delhi's helmet law is associated with increased compliance among those who fall under its jurisdiction. This augments the growing body of evidence that mandatory helmet laws are efficacious, thus repealing the exemption of women is an important step in increasing female pillion helmet usage.
KW - Global surgery
KW - Helmet use
KW - Injury prevention
KW - Motorized two-wheelers
KW - Pillion riders
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jss.2014.01.003
DO - 10.1016/j.jss.2014.01.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 24529884
AN - SCOPUS:84897439166
SN - 0022-4804
VL - 188
SP - 64
EP - 68
JO - Journal of Surgical Research
JF - Journal of Surgical Research
IS - 1
ER -