ABSTRACT
It is well known that injuries as a result of moped and motorcycle crashes among adolescents are a serious public health problem (Deery, 1999; Kopjar, 1999; Lin, Chang, Pai and Keyl, 2003; Goldenbeld, Twisk and Craen, 2004; Rundmo and Iversen, 2004). Adolescents are more frequently involved in traffic accidents than other age groups and their injuries tend to be severe. Data shows that a significant proportion of victims sustain multiple injuries and require hospitalization (SWOV, 2001, 2002; Arnett, 2002; Ulleberg and Rundmo, 2002; McKnight and McKnight, 2003; Williams, 2003; Goldenbeld, Twisk and Craen, 2004). Moped injuries amongst older children and adolescents continue to represent a significant source of injury-related mortality and morbidity, especially in populations where the moped is a popular means of transport amongst young people, such as Portugal and other Southern European countries (eg Italy, Spain, Greece and France). According to the recent European research project PROMISING (SWOV, 2001a), the number of motorcycle fatalities in Western European countries is more than 4000 per year. For moped fatalities the number is about 2500. Together they represent ten to fifteen percent of all traffic fatalities. These numbers are high considering the numbers of vehicles. For both mopeds and motorcycles the rate of fatalities is much higher for young riders compared to older ones and this is especially true for young men. Portugal has one of the highest mortality rates in motorised two-wheelers, followed by Italy and the UK (Reto and Sá, 2003). However, in the past years this risk seems to have been overlooked. Despite these results, it is not yet known how large the problem of moped injuries represents for traffic safety (Kopjar, 1999; SWOV, 2001, 2001a). Insufficient driving skills, lack of experience, underestimation of risks, overestimation of driving skills, high exposure to difficult situations and willingness to take risks are thought to be the main causes of young drivers’ accidents (Rundmo and Iversen, 2004; SWOV, 2001, 2001a; Deery, 1999). From a psychological point of view, one of the main reasons for the high accident involvement of adolescent traffic participants seems to be the tendency to involve themselves in ‘risky’ behaviour, which is age related 254and has ‘developmental sources’ (SWOV, 2002; Arnett, 2002). Accordingly, since 1999 the Portuguese Road Prevention (PRP; Prevenção Rodoviária Portuguesa) has provided a moped riding training programme for adolescents (fourteen to fifteen years old) throughout the country: Programa de Formação de Jovens Ciclomotoristas – Licença Especial 50cc (FJC programme). The aim of this paper is to present the results of a research project set to evaluate the FJC programme’s efficacy.
