More then a statistical blip

fatty pang

[HTML][/HTML]https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/midlife-motorcycling-injuries-rise-sv83jp87g[HTML][/HTML]


A leading surgeon has warned that middle-aged men should be cautious when pulling on their leathers as hospital admissions of over-50s with motorcycle injuries have risen 65 per cent in a decade.

"He said: “When you’re on call and you meet someone for the first time who has been badly injured in a motorbike accident, you know you are going to be seeing them for months, maybe even years. Those first conversations are very difficult to have.

They believe they will be restored to how they were and back on their bikes within a very short period of time. You know that’s not possible. You are also aware that they are likely to endure long-term, possibly permanent pain and disability, poorer career prospects, even an effect on their ability to enjoy a family life.”

Max Headroom

Apart from the fact that its the NHS and not a comment from the HSC/RSA i cant see any un-truths there tbh...

Lumen

Doctors have a very skewed perspective on risk, since they only see the negative cases.

For instance, there are numerous examples of brain surgeons campaigning for bicycle helmet use despite the fact that they have no impact (bah-dum) on outcomes.

That said, the idea that motorcycling causes injuries will surprise absolutely no one.

Cian_ok

fatty pang wrote: »

A leading surgeon has warned that middle-aged men should be cautious when pulling on their leathers as hospital admissions of over-50s with motorcycle injuries have risen 65 per cent in a decade.

This 65% increase is meaningless unless you know how many over-50 motorcyclists there are today vs ten years ago.
If there are the same number of cyclists, then it is more dangerous. But if, say, the number had doubled in ten years - then it it actually safer today.

Sonics2k

Lumen wrote: »

Doctors have a very skewed perspective on risk, since they only see the negative cases.

For instance, there are numerous examples of brain surgeons campaigning for bicycle helmet use despite the fact that they have no impact (bah-dum) on outcomes.

That said, the idea that motorcycling causes injuries will surprise absolutely no one.

I don't know if that bit about the helmets is entirely true. Maybe it won't always work, but I can certainly remember slipping when cycling home from work and hitting my head. Helmet got a massive dent in it from the fall and my head was mostly fine

bladespin

Rider profile is aging, most are older now, it used to be mainly young.

That along with the 'born agains' would explain a lot.

BaronVon

A common problem is middle aged men going back to riding after 20/30 years away from it. They have lost a lot of their riding skills, and not being as physically fit as they used to be, they suffer from tiredness while riding.

A few I know in situations like that have gone and done IBT's, which they found useful to brush up on their skills and restore confidence.

macplaxton

Useful tip on any news report, skip the headline grabber, go to end of article... https://www.lep.co.uk/news/warning-after-summer-of-awful-accidents-in-lancashire-1-9291845

There were 10,073 hospital admissions for motorcyclist injuries in England not Scotland, Wales or NI in 2016/17, the figures from NHS Digital show, slightly lower than 2006/07 when there were 10,717. So overall admissions static.

Those admitted to hospital for motorcycle-related injuries last year were most likely to be aged 20 to 29, with 2,992 admissions, including 2,795 involving men.

The number of admissions for men in this age group was up 22 per cent from a decade ago, when there were 2,298.

There was also a 65 per cent increase in admissions for people over the age of 50, from 1,320 in 2006/07 to 2,183 last year.

However, there was a 39 per cent decrease across this period in under 20s with these injuries, from 2,707 to 1,657.

The RCS said the dip could be due to new laws, which mean riders must be 24 years old to ride the most powerful motorbikes.

Can't find the stats table readily. Something to do with NHS "HES". Being August (usual no news month), lots of guff and old reports being recycled.

For all we know, these injury admissions could be yer ould wans dropping their bikes trying to put them on their stands. :pac:

Some Irish stats in this: http://imj.ie/older-motorcyclists-in-ireland/

Lumen

Sonics2k wrote: »

I don't know if that bit about the helmets is entirely true. Maybe it won't always work, but I can certainly remember slipping when cycling home from work and hitting my head. Helmet got a massive dent in it from the fall and my head was mostly fine

If cycling helmets helped you would expect that jurisdictions that introduced mandatory helmet use would see a reduction in head injuries, but that isn't the case.

(I wasn't trying to divert this to a helmet thread, only introduce it as a challenge to the idea that doctors are qualified to offer opinions on risk. They are not statisticians).

CJhaughey

Lumen wrote: »

If cycling helmets helped you would expect that jurisdictions that introduced mandatory helmet use would see a reduction in head injuries, but that isn't the case.

(I wasn't trying to divert this to a helmet thread, only introduce it as a challenge to the idea that doctors are qualified to offer opinions on risk. They are not statisticians).

Interesting study by the NZ medical association (NZ and Australia are one of three countries to have mandatory bicycle helmet laws)

Summary:
The following trends were observed following the introduction of New Zealand’s helmet law:

Cycling usage reduced by 51%.
Cyclist’s injury risk per hour increased by 20–32%.
Estimated to have contributed to 53 premature deaths per year (due to reluctance to cycle and hence people not exercising).
Thousands of fines are issued annually for not wearing a helmet.
May contribute to discrimination in accident compensation and the legal processes.
Could have contributed to environmental pollution and environmental harm (due to use of vehicles in place of cycles).
Possibly diminishes civil liberties and human rights (by imposing a requirement to wear a helmet when several reports raise serious doubts whether they improve safety overall).
Is a mandatory cycle helmet requirement the best approach to promoting health and safety for the nation?

Conclusions
This evaluation of NZ’s bicycle helmet law finds it has failed in aspects of promoting cycling, safety, health, accident compensation, environmental issues and civil liberties. It is estimated to cost about 53 lives per year in premature deaths and result in thousands of fines plus legal aspects of discrimination in accident compensation cases. Road safety and cyclist’s safety should be improved by coherent policies, which support health, the environment, and without the legal requirement to wear a helmet. Additional information is available via web sites at http://www.cycle-helmets.com/zealand_helmets.html and http://www.cyclehelmets.org


https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/read-the-journal/all-issues/2010-2019/2012/vol-125-no-1349/article-clarke

mamax

fatty pang wrote: »

[HTML][/HTML]https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/midlife-motorcycling-injuries-rise-sv83jp87g[HTML][/HTML]


A leading surgeon has warned that middle-aged men should be cautious when pulling on their leathers as hospital admissions of over-50s with motorcycle injuries have risen 65 per cent in a decade.

"He said: “When you’re on call and you meet someone for the first time who has been badly injured in a motorbike accident, you know you are going to be seeing them for months, maybe even years. Those first conversations are very difficult to have.

They believe they will be restored to how they were and back on their bikes within a very short period of time. You know that’s not possible. You are also aware that they are likely to endure long-term, possibly permanent pain and disability, poorer career prospects, even an effect on their ability to enjoy a family life.”

I've been riding my bicycle for over 40 years and riding motorcycles for almost 30 years
In the early days of both I've had crashes, got up and walked away and healed ok without the need to go to a hospital
Now several years later if I had the same falls I'd be in hospital and spend a lot more time recovering, that's life, healing is harder as you get older so i believe their is truth in what the doctors say.
The difference between us middle aged men now and 25 years ago is now we have the cop on to go to the hospital after a fall