Page 33 - SAM September 2019

USING HELMETS

leading cause of death in motorcycle acci- MacLeod, Jana B. A. MD; DiGiacomo,
dents or that the relative danger of being J. Christopher MD; Tinkoff, Glen MD,
involved in a motorcycle accident is much FACS, FCCM Journal of Trauma and
greater than that of being involved in a car Acute Care Surgery: November 2010 -
crash (all else equal), deaths from motor- Volume 69 - Issue 5 - p 1101-1111 doi:
cycle-accident-related head trauma have 10.1097/TA.0b013e3181f8a9cc Clinical
been shown to be prevented by putting Management Update.
helmets on society’s motorcyclists. With
such a clear link having been repeatedly es- 2. Ann Emerg Med. 1992 Mar;21(3):273-8.
tablished by logically-sound methodolo- A population-based study of motorcycle
gies, it should be strongly requested of injury and costs. Braddock M1, Schwartz
and the fatality rate among non-helmeted state governments to enforce legislation R, Lapidus G, Banco L, Jacobs L.
riders was 2.8-times higher. An estimated mandating the use of helmets among mo-
26 fatalities and 49 serious injuries that torcyclists, much the same as seatbelt laws 3. Am J Public Health. 2017 Jan;107(1):166-
could have been prevented by helmet use.” exist for the other automobiles. 172. Epub 2016 Nov 17. The Impact of
This clearly illustrates the preventative ef- Michigan's Partial Repeal of the Universal
fect that wearing helmets has on the fatality References: Motorcycle Helmet Law on Helmet Use,
rate of motorcyclists involved in collisions 1. An Evidence-Based Review: Helmet Ef- Fatalities, and Head Injuries. Carter PM1,
in which they suffered head injuries. ficacy to Reduce Head Injury and Mor- Buckley L1, Flannagan CA1, Cicchino
In summary, although nobody can tality in Motorcycle Crashes: EAST JB1, Hemmila M1, Bowman PJ1, Almani
change the fact that head injuries are the Practice Management Guidelines F1, Bingham CR1.

visit us at www.bcms.org 33