Historically, dates like Easter week and the period of Christmas festivities and the end of the year that is approaching, mark peaks when measuring the amount of accidents on highways, streets and roads in the country, which increasingly involve bikers.
The director of National Institute of Transit and Land Transportation (Intrant), Milton Morrison, described the accidents roads as “an epidemic”, stating that the country registered more than 3,000 deaths from this cause in this year 2024, 70% correspond to motorcyclists, about 2,100 people.
In the last five years, between 80 to 85% of the patients who are treated in the Emergency of the Trauma Hospital Juan Boschin La Vega, these are patients injured in accidents traffic, and of these, more than 70% were on board a motorcycle.
From January to October 2024, the hospital received 1,710 accidentedof which, 1,188 were bikers (70% of the total). These figures are not far from previous years, when in 2023, 1,830 patientssome 1,823 were riding a motor at the time of the accident. In 2022, 91% (1,058 people out of 1,151) were accidented in motorcycles.
Emmanuel Cornielemergency doctor at this health center, highlighted that “no one was wearing a helmet“.
“The statistics since 1991,” said Dr. Cesar Roquedirector of the Hospital Dario Contreraspointing out that year after year the bikers top the list of accidented in the country’s trauma centers.
According to the orthopedist, weeks before the start of December, the volume of accidentsgoing from 160 daily services in Emergency to more than 200 and more than 1,000 x-rays daily.
“They are young boys, 15 to 30 years old, with 60 to 65% engines, it’s not so much the stupid thing,” the doctor explained.
Roque said that Sunday and Monday are the busiest days, activating the Emergency “starting at 10:00 at night and without stopping. 80% of patients “He comes late at night, without a helmet, without papers, drinking.”
Testimony
Ten years ago, Jefferson Argenis worked as delivery in a restaurant located on Winston Churchill Avenue. Due to a lack of personnel, he received a call from his boss to work on his day of rest, a request to which the young man agreed.
While carrying one of the orders, a public transportation driver made a maneuver to pass another car, grazing Jefferson’s engine. The problem was not the impactbut, by losing the balancethe engine fell on top of his left leg, crushing it against the restraint and breaking it into three parts.
The young man was subjected to surgery and after a year and a half in bed he was able to start walking, overcoming everything forecast. “When I saw my foot caught in a bone thread, I thought I had lost my leg forever,” he commented.
Today, Jefferson earns the life carrying passengers at a motoconcho stop and through digital applications. You are considering undergoing a new surgery in the ankle, since he never walked normally again.
“The engine is my means of life“I can’t leave him,” said the father of two.
At Darío Contreras, an average orthopedic patient consumes between 200 and 250 thousand pesos to the State, if maxillofacial surgery is performed it can rise to almost half a million pesos and if he undergoes spinal, skull, neurosurgery or intensive surgery, possibly is placed above one million pesos, according to Dr. Roque’s estimates.
In the case of Ney Arias, the figures are between 150 thousand and 250 thousand pesos, for a patient who has a nail, a plate or any type of upper and lower limb surgery performed. “Of course, for patients who go to the intensive care unit, expenses skyrocket,” Landrón said.
They reinforce personnel
For his part, the director of the Hospital Ney Arias Lora, Julio Landronstated that these patients present important injuries craniocerebral, spinal, upper and lower limbs.
“The majority are patients of motorcycles“he commented.
As happens in the Dario Contrerasthe Emergency del Ney, which from Monday to Friday handles between 80 and 100 patientsreceives about 150 patients this holiday season and above 250 on weekends.
“We have had to reinforce the weekends and have more doctors emergency medicine, more doctors surgeons, anesthesiologists, orthopedists who can give a answer quick to these patients and preserve the life“added Landrón.
Call to the prudence
Both Dr. Corniel, Roque and Landrón called on the prudence and asked citizens to respect the signs traffic, do not consume alcohol if you are going to drive, wear a seat belt, a protective helmet and do not text while behind the wheel.
