"The Hurt Report"
continued
30. Passenger-carrying motorcycles are not
overrepresented in the accident area.
31. The driver of
the other vehicles involved in collision with the motorcycle are not
distinguished from other accident populations except that the ages of 20 to 29,
and beyond 65 are overrepresented. Also, these drivers are generally unfamiliar
with motorcycles.
32. Large displacement motorcycles
are underrepresented in accidents but they are associated with higher injury
severity when involved in accidents.
33. Any effect of
motorcycle color on accident involvement is not determinable from these data,
but is expected to be insignificant because the frontal surfaces are most often
presented to the other vehicle involved in the collision.
34. Motorcycles equipped with fairings and windshields
are underrepresented in accidents, most likely because of the contribution to
conspicuity and the association with more experienced and trained riders.
35. Motorcycle riders in these accidents were
significantly without motorcycle license, without any license, or with license
revoked.
36. Motorcycle modifications such as those
associated with the semi-chopper or cafe racer are definitely overrepresented in
accidents.
37. The likelihood of injury is extremely
high in these motorcycle accidents-98% of the multiple vehicle collisions and
96% of the single vehicle accidents resulted in some kind of injury to the
motorcycle rider; 45% resulted in more than a minor injury.
38. Half of the injuries to the somatic regions were to
the ankle-foot, lower leg, knee, and thigh-upper leg.
39. Crash bars are not an effective injury
countermeasure; the reduction of injury to the ankle-foot is balanced by
increase of injury to the thigh-upper leg, knee, and lower leg.
40. The use of heavy boots, jacket, gloves, etc., is
effective in preventing or reducing abrasions and lacerations, which are
frequent but rarely severe injuries.
41. Groin injuries
were sustained by the motorcyclist in at least 13% of the accidents, which
typified by multiple vehicle collision in frontal impact at higher than average
speed.
42. Injury severity increases with speed,
alcohol involvement and motorcycle size.
43.
Seventy-three percent of the accident-involved motorcycle riders used no eye
protection, and it is likely that the wind on the unprotected eyes contributed
in impairment of vision which delayed hazard detection.
44. Approximately 50% of the motorcycle riders in
traffic were using safety helmets but only 40% of the accident-involved
motorcycle riders were wearing helmets at the time of the accident.
45. Voluntary safety helmet use by those
accident-involved motorcycle riders was lowest for untrained, uneducated, young
motorcycle riders on hot days and short trips.
46. The
most deadly injuries to the accident victims were injuries to the chest and
head.
47. The use of the safety helmet is the single
critical factor in the prevention of reduction of head injury; the safety helmet
which complies with FMVSS 218 is a significantly effective injury
countermeasure.
48. Safety helmet use caused no
attenuation of critical traffic sounds, no limitation of precrash visual field,
and no fatigue or loss of attention; no element of accident causation was
related to helmet use.
49. FMVSS 218 provides a high
level of protection in traffic accidents, and needs modification only to
increase coverage at the back of the head and demonstrate impact protection of
the front of full facial coverage helmets, and insure all adult sizes for
traffic use are covered by the standard.
50. Helmeted
riders and passengers showed significantly lower head and neck injury for all
types of injury, at all levels of injury severity.
51.
The increased coverage of the full facial coverage helmet increases protection,
and significantly reduces face injuries.
52. There is
no liability for neck injury by wearing a safety helmet; helmeted riders had
less neck injuries than unhelmeted riders. Only four minor injuries were
attributable to helmet use, and in each case the helmet prevented possible
critical or fatal head injury.
53. Sixty percent of the
motorcyclists were not wearing safety helmets at the time of the accident. Of
this group, 26% said they did not wear helmets because they were uncomfortable
and inconvenient, and 53% simply had no expectation of accident involvement.
54. Valid motorcycle exposure data can be obtained only
from collection at the traffic site. Motor vehicle or driver license data
presents information which is completely unrelated to actual use.
55. Less than 10% of the motorcycle riders involved in
these accidents had insurance of any kind to provide medical care or replace
property.
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