As a therapist at a post-acute brain injury treatment facility, I often find myself cringing when driving down the highway. I see so many motorcyclists without helmets and it brings to mind the many patients at our facility who were injured in motorcycle accidents and were not wearing helmets at the time of their injury. Riding a motorcycle without a helmet is just a bad idea.
According to a 2009 report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, helmets were 41% effective in preventing traumatic brain injuries in single vehicle accidents and 25% effective in multi-vehicle accidents.
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811208.pdf
Similarly, a study from Johns Hopkins University found a 65% reduction in brain injuries resulting from motorcycle accidents when riders wore helmets.
A study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that motorcyclists without helmets were almost two and a half times more likely to receive brain injuries than those with helmets.
http://www.chsra.wisc.edu/codes/special-cost/motorcycle-helmet-use-and-crash-outcomes-2010.pdf
The numbers do not lie. Motorcycle helmets truly do help prevent brain injuries.
Learn about all of the Moody Neurorehabilitation Institute’s brain injury treatment services.
