The Department of Health’s injury surveillance system revealed that half of the vehicular injuries recorded during the first quarter of 2011 involved motorcycles.
Of the 3,901 total cases of transport accidents, 47% involved motorcycles. Moreover, only 8.5% of the injured motorcycle riders were wearing helmets while only 14.4% of injured car occupants were wearing seatbelts, the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) showed.
“The DOH urges everyone, especially motorcycle riders, to always take safety precaution seriously and follow the law,” said Health Undersecretary Teodora Herbosa in a press statement.
He strongly advised motorists to wear helmets and seatbelts at all times to protect themselves from fatal injuries.
The first quarter data of NEISS also revealed that almost half (48.5%) of the transport accidents were non-collision, while 14.7% of vehicular injuries involved pedestrians.
Central Luzon had the highest reported incidence at 22.4%, followed by Davao Region at 21.6%. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and CARAGA region registered the lowest cases at 0.4%.
According to DOH, there were more males (72.4%) than females (27.6%) involved in accidents, and that alcohol intake was the top risk factor in transport accidents.
Herbosa emphasized in his statement the need to employ safety precautions such as defensive driving and observing traffic rules and regulations to reduce the risk of injuries.
NEISS, a web-based system developed by DOH to electronically capture injury-related data from health facilities, recorded a total of 12,729 injury cases in the first quarter of 2011.
While transport accidents ranked as the primary cause of injuries, other cases reported were caused by mauling (2,374), falls (1,693), contact with sharp objects (1,364) and bites/stings (644).
