motorcycle helmet safety studies
Riding a motorcycle is inherently riskier than driving a car. Maintaining control is harder on two wheels than on four, and when crashes occur, motorcyclists are at greater risk of serious injury or death because they don't have an enclosed vehicle to protect them. Although motorcyclist deaths have fallen from their 2008 peak of more than 5,000, the 4,693 that occurred in 2015 were still more than double the number from 1997. A helmet is the most important piece of motorcycle safety equipment. Helmets decrease the severity of head injuries and the likelihood of death. The federal government estimates that wearing a helmet reduces the risk of dying in a crash by 37 percent. Unhelmeted riders are 3 times more likely than helmeted ones to sustain traumatic brain injuries in the event of a crash. An antilock braking system (ABS) reduces the risk of a motorcycle crash. ABS prevents wheels from locking up, and that's crucial on a motorcycle. On a car, a lockup might result in a skid.
On a motorcycle, it often means a serious fall. The rate of fatal crashes is 31 percent lower for motorcycles equipped with optional antilock brakes than for the same models without them. Some kinds of motorcycles are riskier than others. Supersport motorcycles have driver death rates about 4 times as high as that of cruisers or standards. These bikes are built on racing platforms, and their combination of light weight and high-horsepower engines means many models can quickly reach speeds of more than 160 miles per hour. Riders of sport motorcycles, which are typically not quite as powerful and lightweight as supersports, have a driver death rate about twice that of cruisers or standards. Riding is safer with antilock brakes. Learn how the technology reduces crashes and saves lives with this fact sheet and check ABS availability by make and model. Helmet laws: whose freedom? When motorcyclists crash, the results can be disastrous. This is especially true in the case of brain injuries.
This video illustrates the consequences of riding without a helmet. Motorcycle crash deaths are costly, but preventable. The single most effective way for states to save lives and save money is a universal helmet law. Helmets saved an estimated 1,630 lives and $2.8 billion in economic costs in 2013.1 The United States could have saved an additional $1.1 billion in 2013 if all motorcyclists had worn helmets.1 Helmets reduce the risk of death by 37%.1 Helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 69%.2,3 “Our role is to identify ways to prevent injury and death and rigorously check what works and what does not work. For motorcycle safety, the research shows that universal helmet laws are the most effective way to reduce the number of deaths and traumatic brain injuries that result from crashes.” - Dr. Thomas Frieden, CDC Director Motorcycle Safety Guide [PDF Note: This document does not contain current data and is included for historical purposes only.
National Center for Statistics and Analysis. Washington, DC: October 2015. Estimating lives and costs saved by motorcycle helmets with updated economic cost information (Traffic Safety Facts Research Note. DOT HS 812 206). Accessed January 8, 2016. Derrick AJ, Faucher LD. Motorcycle helmets and rider safety: A legislative crisis.
bmw motorcycle dealers aucklandJ Public Health Pol. 2009;30(2):226–242.
motorcycle for sale yuma az Liu BC, Ivers R, Norton R, Boufous S, Blows S, Lo SK. Helmets for preventing injury in motorcycle riders.
best gore-tex motorcycle pantsCochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008;(1):CD004333. Download a special edition of SMARTER's newsletter (Sept/Oct 2014) for a quick reference that (1) summarizes the below research and/or literature reviews related to helmet use and helmet-use laws, (2) provides a brief history of helmet use and helmet-use laws, and (3) reviews the components and goals of a comprehensive motorcyclist-safety program.
Helmets for Preventing Injury in Motorcycle Riders (Review) - a high quality review of the research regarding the effectiveness of helmets in reducing the risk of death and injury. Sixty-one observational studies were selected for review; references for each are provided along with the results and a brief description of the characteristics of each study, references for 18 studies excluded from the review, and 28 additional references. Despite methodological differences in the 61 included studies, the results showed remarkable consistency, particularly for death and head-injury outcomes. Motorcycle helmets were found to reduce the risk of death by 42 percent and head injury by 69 percent in motorcyclists who crashed. An Evidence-Based Review: Helmet Efficacy to Reduce Head Injury and Mortality in Motorcycle Crashes - a review of the U.S. National Library of Medicine literature from 1990 through 2009, with 507 citations identified. The abstract for each was reviewed, and 197 candidate articles having possible applicability to the guideline topic were retrieved and reviewed.
General reviews, letters to the editor, single case reports, and retrospective reviews of poor quality were excluded, leaving 45 articles that were reviewed in detail. References for each are provided along with the results and a brief description of the characteristics of each study. Summary of conclusions: (1) the use of motorcycle helmets decreases the overall death rate of motorcycle crashes when compared with nonhelmeted riders; (2) the use of motorcycle helmets decreases the incidence of lethal head injury in motorcycle crashes when compared with nonhelmeted riders; (3) the use of motorcycle helmets decreases the severity of nonlethal head injury in motorcycle crashes when compared with nonhelmeted riders; and (4) geographical areas that have mandatory universal helmet laws have reduced rates of mortality and head injury compared with areas that do not. - an extensive and rigorous review of the literature on the effectiveness of helmet use, the effectiveness of universal motorcycle helmet laws, and the economic impact of repeal or implementation of universal helmet laws.
The review of helmet-use and helmet-law effectiveness was completed August 2013, and the economic-impact review was completed October 2013. The Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends universal motorcycle helmet laws (laws that apply to all motorcycle operators and passengers) based on strong evidence of effectiveness. Evidence indicates that universal helmet laws increase helmet use; decrease motorcycle-related fatal and nonfatal injuries; and are substantially more effective than no law or than partial motorcycle helmet laws, which apply only to riders who are young, novices, or have medical insurance coverage above certain thresholds. To provide easier access to the results and to emphasize the comprehensiveness of this particular study, we have chosen to post it below in four separate sections and have provided a description of each: Helmet Effectiveness - this section provides a summary and review of the Task Force Findings and Rationale Statement regarding the effectiveness of helmet use in preventing death, injury, and reducing the severity and risk of head injury, including the results of
⇒41 studies on helmet use ⇒37 studies comparing fatalities ⇒35 studies comparing fatalities per registered motorcycle ⇒7 studies comparing fatalities per mile traveled ⇒14 studies comparing fatalities per crash ⇒12 studies regarding head injury fatalities ⇒18 studies regarding nonfatal injuries total ⇒18 nonfatal head injuries Helmet-Law Effectiveness - this section provides a summary of the results of ⇒the impact of repealing a universal helmet law, including ⇒the impact of implementing a universal helmet law ⇒comparison of death and injury data across states with universal, partial, or no helmet law ⇒the impact on death, injury, and use of a helmet among young riders with repeal of universal helmets laws, implementation of a universal helmet law, and comparison across states with different types of laws or no law • 19 studies regarding helmet use • 17 studies on total deaths • fatality rates per registered motorcycle (17), per vehicle mile traveled (3), and per crash (10)
Supporting Material: Helmet and Helmet-Law Effectiveness - this section provides reference information for ⇒69 studies that were included in the review ⇒6 papers that provided more information about included studies ⇒13 studies determined ineligible due to study country or article language ⇒20 studies determined ineligible due to unsuitable study type ⇒15 studies determined ineligible due to lack of outcomes of interest Supporting Material: Economic Impact - this section provides reference information for the 22 studies that provided the information for assessment of economic impact of repeal or implementation of universal helmet laws Motorcycle Helmets Use Reduces Mortality and Resource Utilization, Annals of Surgery, September 2010, A review. Helmet use reduces motorcycle rider mortality rates and resource utilization. Such helmet use occurs more often where laws prescribe helmet use. This large database study clearly shows that helmets provide protection for motorcycle riders from mortality and other injuries.
Head injury is also less severe. Health care resource utilization is also diminished. Because more non-helmeted riders do not have health insurance, helmets therefore reduce societal costs of injuries suffered by motorcycle riders. Because helmet use is greater when laws dictate their use, such laws benefit the individual by reducing mortality and society by reducing costs. Current Motorcycle Helmet Laws and Fatality Rates - an April 2014 downloadable and printable chart prepared by the National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL) that shows the percentage of people killed in motorcycle crashes by state, in 2011, who were not wearing helmets compared to type/kind of state motorcycle helmet law How Safe Is Your Motorcycle Helmet? Study on Motorcycle Helmet Types. American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, 2014 Facial Injury Severity score was significantly higher for unhelmeted riders compared with fullface helmet riders with no difference between unhelmeted riders and open-face helmet users
TBI were statistically greater for those wearing open-face helmets compared with full-face helmets. Effectiveness of Different Types of Motorcycle Helmets and Effects of Their Improper Use on Head Injuries - a case-control study conducted to examine how different helmet types and improper helmet use affected protection against head injuries among motorcyclists in Taiwan Differences among three helmet types and the ineffectiveness of improper helmet use in preventing head injuries are speculated about but are seldom explored to derive empirical evidence. Summary of conclusions: (1) nonhelmeted motorcyclists were more than four times as likely to have head injuries than helmeted motorcyclists and ten times as likely to have brain injuries; (2) compared with motorcyclists wearing full-face helmets, those wearing half-coverage helmets were more than twice as likely to have head injuries and brain injuries; and (3) compared with motorcyclists with firmly fastened helmets, those with loosely fastened helmets increased their risk of head injury;