Characteristics of motorcyclists involved in road traffic accidents attended at public urgent and emergency services

Injuries resulting from motorcycle road traffic accidents are an important public health issue in Brazil. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of motorcyclists involved in traffic accidents attended in public urgent and emergency services in the state capitals and the Federal District. This is a cross-sectional study based on data from the Violence and Accident Surveillance System (VIVA Survey) in 2014. Data were analyzed according to sociodemographic, event and attendance characteristics. Proportional differences between genders were analyzed by chi-square test (Rao-Scott) with 5% significance level. Motorcyclist-related attendances (n = 9,673) reported a prevalence of men (gender ratio = 3.2), young people aged 20-39 years (65.7%), black / brown (73.6%), paid work (76.4%). Helmet use was reported by 79.1% of the victims, 13.3% had consumed alcohol in the six hours prior to the accident, 41.4% of the events were related to the victim's work. Accidents were more frequent on weekends, in the morning and late afternoon. These characteristics can support the development of public accident prevention policies and health promotion.