Preliminary results from a study of motorcyclist casualties' leg injuries are reported, based on a cooperative study between the Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL) and three neighbouring hospitals. New methodology was developed for this type of research which is fully described together with full collision details.
The aim was to establish detailed mechanisms of leg injuries for motorcyclist casualties admitted to the three participating hospitals as in-patients with lower limb fractures. The preliminary results indicate that a high proportion of the injuries are due to contact with car front structures as car-to-motorcycle accidents are the most common type of collision. Examination of clothing, particularly trousers, has enabled the precise location of leg contact to be established in a high proportion of cases. The part played by the motorcycle structure has also been examined in the study.
Preliminary results from 47 accidents are presented with injury severity and location details and the study is continuing. The final results will support TRRL's engineering programme on lower limb protection for motorcyclists and the methodology will be used for other motorcyclist injury studies.