Every motorcyclist and Los Angeles Los Angeles motorcycle accident attorney knows that wearing helmets can dramatically reduce your risks of suffering serious head injuries in an accident. However, motorcycle helmets also help prevent other more equally serious injuries that can result from a collision. A new study finds that these helmets are extremely beneficial in helping prevent disfiguring facial injuries.
The study was conducted by researchers at the University Of California, who focused on the effect of an accident on a motorcyclist’s face, rather than brain injuries and fatalities. The research found that a motorcyclist is less than half as likely to suffer injuries to the face, if he is wearing a helmet.
The researchers analyzed data from the National Trauma Data Bank. The database included more than 46,000 motorcyclists, who had to be rushed to hospital emergency rooms around the country, after they were involved in a collision. The researchers found in their analysis that approximately 75% of motorcyclists were wearing helmets at the time of the accident. The researchers have confirmed that in all these cases, wearing a motorcycle helmet dramatically reduced the person’s risk of suffering facial injuries.
Approximately 2,300 of the motorcyclists suffered eye injuries, while 1,700 suffered no injuries and 1,400 suffered bruises on their faces. About 800 of the motorcyclists in the study suffered jaw bone fractures. According to the researchers, wearing a motorcycle helmet reduced these persons’ risk of suffering a facial injury by as much as 60%, compared to non-helmeted motorcyclists.
What’s more, the researchers don’t believe that wearing a motorcycle helmet with a face shield is absolutely imperative to reduce facial injuries. Even a helmet without a face shield can help reduce the risk of injuries to the face. The study provides strong evidence that wearing a motorcycle helmet can not only help reduce the risk of suffering serious and potentially fatal brain injuries, but can also help prevent injuries to the face.