Motorcycle protective clothing: Protection from injury or just the weather?
Highlights
► Motorcycle protective clothing reduces the risk of injury in a crash. ► Injured riders who wore motorcycle clothing are less likely to be hospitalized. ► Protective clothing fitted with body armour reduces the risk of any injuries. ► Any type of boot substantially reduces the risk of injuries compared to any shoes. ► The failure rate of protective clothing suggests quality control systems are needed.
Introduction
Motorcycles are the fastest growing sector of motor vehicles globally and comprise the majority of the fleet in many low and middle income countries. Their presence on the roads is mirrored in the increasing proportion of motorcycle crash casualties in both low and high income countries (WHO, 2004). Compared to car drivers, motorcyclists are more likely to be killed or severely injured in crashes (DFT, 2008, Lee et al., 2010). For many years motorcycle safety research has been dominated by debate about the effectiveness of helmets (Lawrence et al., 2002, Liu et al., 2008). There has been less focus on other protection for the riders body, although the protective value of materials such as leather have been known for at least 30 years (Feldkamp et al., 1977, Zettas et al., 1979, Aldman et al., 1981, Hurt et al., 1981a, Schuller et al., 1982, Schuller et al., 1986, Otte and Middelhauve, 1987, Hell and Lob, 1993).
In Europe, standards have been developed for motorcycle protective clothing based on two mechanisms for protecting the motorcyclists body (EEVC, 1993). The first requires protection of soft tissues by material and construction that is abrasion, cut, tear and burst resistant (EU, 2002). The second requires the use of body armour or impact protectors (high-density foam shields) which absorb and distribute the force of direct impacts to exposed areas, e.g. elbows (EU, 1998). There are now separate standards for motorcycle protective gloves, boots, one piece suits, jackets and pants and body armour for the limbs and back. While only enforceable in Europe, the standards have provided benchmarks for manufacturers across the international market (de Rome, 2006). The result has been the emergence of a new generation of protective clothing products, however to date their performance in real world crashes has not been examined.
While there are limits to the extent clothing can prevent injury in high impact crashes, it is in low impact crashes that protective clothing is thought to offer the greatest injury reduction (Hell and Lob, 1993). The majority of motorcycle crashes do not involve high speeds nor impacts with fixed objects (EEVC, 1993, Noordzij et al., 2001, ACEM, 2004). However it is apparent that many riders who wear helmets do not fully protect the rest of their bodies (Hurt et al., 1981a, Reeder et al., 1996, ACEM, 2004, de Rome and Stanford, 2006, Wishart et al., 2009). Given the increasing human and economic costs of motorcycle injuries around the world, there is a clear need for research to establish the effectiveness of motorcycle protective clothing.
Section snippets
Methods
The aim of the study was to examine the association between use of motorcycle protective clothing and risk of injury in crashes.
A 12 month prospective cohort study of motorcycle crashes was conducted from June 2008. Eligible participants were residents of the study area, aged 17–70 years, who were riders or passengers involved in motorcycle crashes causing injury or vehicle damage, on public roads within the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Motorcyclists were excluded if they scored <13 on
Results
Over the study period the researchers identified 618 crashed motorcyclists, including 298 who had been involved in a road crash within the ACT and met all eligible criteria for inclusion in the study. Of these 298 eligible motorcyclists 71.1% (n = 212) participated, 20% (n = 59) could not be contacted, 8% (n = 24) declined and 1% (n = 3) were excluded on medical grounds. The 212 participants included 126 (59.4%) identified from hospital presentations, 75 (35.4%) from crash repair services and 9
Discussion
These findings confirm earlier reports on the value of abrasion resistant materials in the reduction of soft tissue injuries in motorcycle crashes (Aldman et al., 1981, Hurt et al., 1981a, Schuller et al., 1982, Otte et al., 2002b). This study takes that work further and is the first detailed examination of the performance of motorcycle clothing in crashes since standards for protective clothing were established in Europe (CEC, 1989).
These results suggest considerable potential to reduce the
Conclusions
This study demonstrates that motorcycle protective clothing is associated with a significantly reduced risk of injury in crashes, particularly when body armour is fitted. While the most substantial effect was observed for open wound injuries, crashed motorcyclists who were wearing motorcycle clothing were also significantly less likely to require admission to a hospital.
These findings have implications for policy decisions related to encouraging the use of motorcycle protective clothing,
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by Swann Insurance Australia and supported by The Canberra Hospital and Calvary Health Care. Liz de Rome is supported by an NRMA ACT Road Safety Trust Scholarship. Rebecca Ivers and Wei Du receive fellowship support from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. Narelle Haworth's position is supported by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission of the Queensland State Government.
We acknowledge and thank research assistants: Judy Perry who managed
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