Less than half of America's states require every motorcycle rider -- drivers and passengers -- to wear a motorcycle helmet. And four states have no motorcycle helmet requirements whatsoever. Around the world, the same patchwork legal pattern exists when the subject of wearing a motorcycle helmet comes up.

Now, an international group of researchers has combined data from a variety of studies to determine how effective helmets really are. Their findings confirm what seems intuitive: Helmet use is highly significant in reducing both accidental death and injury, reducing head injury risk by 69 percent and death by 42 percent.
"Motorcycle helmets protect motorcyclists who crash from sustaining head injury, and the results also suggest that motorcycle helmets protect motorcyclists who crash from death," said lead author Dr. Betty Liu, epidemiologist at Oxford University in England. "The findings are important to consider in those countries without mandatory motorcycle helmet laws, as well as in jurisdictions with weak or partial helmet legislation." The helmet below reveals an inferior design with little to no interior padding. Sorry the next two pictures are so small!

The review appears in The Cochrane Library an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic. This is an update review to one conducted by the same researchers, published in 2004. They include data from eight additional motorcycle helmet studies in the current review.
The review "confirms the belief of specialists in emergency medicine and should put an end to any further debate about the protective role of  motorcycle helmets regarding head injury in motorcycle riders," said Robert McNamara, M.D., chairman of the emergency medicine department at Temple University School and spokesman for the American Academy of Emergency Medicine. McNamara said that, at this point, "the debate over mandating use of a motorcycle helmet in adults should center on personal freedom to accept a known risk." Picture below shows results of how two different helmets lose safety integrity after a low speed crash.

These researchers believe that despite differences in methodology of the 61 included studies on the use of motorcycle helmets, there was a "definable consistency" in results, especially pertaining to death and head injuries. "The review supports the view that motorcycle helmet use should be actively encouraged worldwide for rider safety." The reviewers say that the analysis could not specify the effects of helmet use on facial and neck injuries, and there was insufficient evidence to determine which type of motorcycle helmet is most protective.

Addressing the public policy implications of the findings, McNamara said, "The personal freedom issue must be balanced with the cost to society of the care of patients with catastrophic head injury. Riders cite the pleasure of going helmet-less, but often the cost of care for the injured motorcyclist is passed on to society at large."
Motorcycle riders might not realize how much is at stake, he said. They "may not fully understand the scientifically demonstrated level of risk involved in riding without a helmet and might assume the risks are acceptable if the law does not prohibit it. If viewed this way, the American Academy of Emergency Medicine feels that states should require helmet use in all age groups." I disagree. I believe it is up to each individual motorcycle rider to determine if he or she wishes to wear a motorcycle helmet. I also believe a child or teenage motorcycle rider should ALWAYS wear a quality motorcycle helmet. When they come of age then they can make their own choice to wear a motorcycle helmet or not. Picture below is of a good quality helmet. To view this helmet and others please click here for motorcycle helmets from top quality brands.

In developing nations, a  vast majority of motorcycle traffic-related injuries occur among pedestrians and motorcycle and scooter riders, the authors said; they cite the example of Malaysia where, in 1994, 57 percent of all road deaths were riders of motorized two-wheeled vehicles. The conclusion is that, given the enormous influence on worldwide mortality of impact head injuries, "the results of this review should be carefully considered."