Effectiveness of motorcycle safety helmets and protective clothing

Detailed injury data were collected for 900 motorcycle accidents by on-scene, in-depth investigations by research teams sponsored by NHTSA. Special attention was given to the injuries of the head and neck, as well as other regions of the body, so that injuries could be compared with contact surfaces and protective equipment. The effectiveness of various safety helmet configurations was evaluated by comparing helmeted and unhelmeted riders, then comparing the injuries to the protectable regions of the head, face and neck. These comparisons show spectacular benefits for helmet use with obvious advantage for reduction of head and face injury, with subtle advantage for reduction of neck injury. In addition, the advantage of injury reduction is shown to increase significantly with increased helmet coverage, i.e., the full facial coverage helmet offers the greatest benefit without disadvantage due to higher helmet weight. Gloves, jackets, boots and eye protection show significant protection in accident events, and those riders using such protection are known to be less accident-involved as well as less injury-involved.