Helmet use, patterns of injury, and medical outcome among motorcycle drivers in Maryland

Shankar, Belavadi S.; Dischinger, Patricia C.; Ramzy, Ameen I.; Soderstrom, Carl A.; Clark, Carl C.

Affiliations

¹Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems, University of Maryland 22 S. Greene St., Baltimore, MD 21201

²Charles Mc. Mathias Jr., National Study Center for Emergency Medical Systems and Trauma, University of Maryland, 22 S. Greene St., Baltimore, MD 21201

³National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC

Abstract

A comprehensive study was conducted in Maryland of all motorcycle traffic crashes occurring during a 1-year period. All available medical and cost data were linked with police crash reports. During the study period, 1900 motorcycle drivers were involved in crashes. The data indicated that 1) helmet usage was 35% overall, 30% among fatally injured drivers, and only 16% among drivers with a history of drug/alcohol conviction, 2) unhelmeted drivers seen at an emergency department were almost twice as likely to have sustained head injury (40%) as were helmeted drivers (21%) (the corresponding percentages for hospitalized drivers were 55% and 38%), and 3) acute care cost for unhelmeted drivers was three times ($30,365) that of helmeted drivers. (This research was supported, in part, by a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Maryland Department of Transportation.)

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Cited By (6)

Year	Entry
1991	Copes WS, Dickman FB, Champion HR, Sacco WJ. Motorcycle injuries: an MTOS perspective. In: 35th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 7, 1991; Toronto, Canada.269-284.
1991	Rutledge R, Stutts J, Foil B, Oller D, Meredith W. The association of helmet use with the outcome of motorcycle crash injury when controlling for crash/injury severity. In: 35th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 7, 1991; Toronto, Canada.285-296.
1991	Soderstrom CA, Dischinger PC, Ho SM, Soderstrom MT. Alcohol use, driving records, and crash culpability among injured motorcycle drivers. In: 35th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 7, 1991; Toronto, Canada.219-234.
1991	Stutts JC, Rutledge R, Martell C. An analysis of injury outcome and insurance status of hospitalized motorcyclists. In: 35th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 7, 1991; Toronto, Canada.297-314.
1992	Chipman ML. Health service use attributable to injury in traffic crashes: data from a population survey. In: 36th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 5-7, 1992; Portland, OR.385-395.
2002	O'Connor PJ, Kloeden C, Mclean AJ. Do full-face helmets offer greater protection against cervical spinal cord injury than open-face helmets? Traffic Inj Prev. 2002;3(3):247-250.