Objective： To analyze the characteristics and causes of motorcycle accidents in China from 2000 to 2005. Methods： We collected data on possession of motor- cycles and automobiles, number of traffic crashes, casualty and economic loss from 2000-2005 Statistic Annual Report of Traffic Management Bureau, Ministry of Public Security of China. The data was processed statistically by SPSS 11.0 software package. Results： During 6 years, the number of motorcycle accidents were up to 122 300 in 2003, which was the highest, and then gradually decreased. However, the casualty had the tendency of consistent increase, for example, the motorcycle accidents resulted in 26 200 deaths and 157 500 injuries in 2005. The mortality per 10 000 motorcycles and the ratio of deaths to injuries were lower than those of automobiles, but the mortality per 100 motorcycle accidents was significantly higher than that of automobiles （P〈0.01）. Conclusions： China has attached great importance to the management of traffic safety, which is beneficial to con- trol and reduce traffic accidents in recent years. However, the casualty keeps increasing annually. Therefore, it is urgent to strengthen the management of motorcycles, promote the education of motorcyclists, take effective traffic measures and improve the first-aid system of traffic injuries.
Objective： To analyze characteristics and causes of road crash and injuries in China from 2003 to 2005. Methods： The data of road crash in 2003-2005 were collected to study the characteristics including total vehicle number, occurrence rates of traffic accidents and serious traffic accidents so as to discuss the causes and characteristics of road crash in China. Results： From 2003 to 2005, the numbers of traffic accidents, injuries and deaths as well as the mortality rates per 100 000 persons and per 10 000 vehicles declined in China. Until 2005, the total number of traffic accidents decreased to 450 000 and deaths to 99 000, with the mortality rate per 10 000 vehicles being 7.6 persons. While the drivers and passengers accounted for 33.2 % and 26.6 % of death casualties respectively in 2005. Most traffic accidents were caused by drivers, especially those with driving experience less than 3 years. Traffic accidents occurred on suburban roads accounted for 60%. The mortality rate of the traffic accidents per 100 km on the first grade road ranked the highest. The mortality rate of the traffic accidents on expressways ranked the highest, with continual increase of death and injury. Conclusions. At present, the increase trend of traffic accidents and casualties in China has been slowed down to some extent and shows a declining tendency, but the situation is far away from being optimistic. In order to cut down the number of traffic accidents and casualties, we should pay more attention to training and managing drivers with less than three driving years and those driving buses. Strict prevention measures should be laid on traffic accidents on first grade roads, expressways and suburban roads as well as the enhancement on improving first-aid system.
