How Common Are Brain Injuries for Motorcyclists?

Motorcycle enthusiasts love the thrill of a ride in the open air, but that same experience also places a rider at great risk of injuries in an accident, including brain injuries ranging from mild to catastrophic. According to the CDC, motorcycles make up less than one percent of all vehicle miles driven yet account for a disproportionate 14% of all traffic accident deaths. Helmet use prevents an estimated 37% of motorcycle operator deaths and 41% of motorcycle passenger deaths. They reduce brain injuries by as much as 67%. Sadly, not all states have universal helmet laws. In addition, even DOT-approved helmets cannot prevent some types of brain injuries.

There are valid reasons that medical providers sometimes irreverently refer to motorcyclists as “organ donors,” due to the prevalence of brain injuries. How common are brain injuries for motorcyclists?

How Do Brain Injuries Occur in Motorcycle Accidents?

When riding in a standard vehicle, motorists have the protection of a hard metal shell around them in addition to seatbelts and airbags. On a motorcycle, a rider has no protection between themselves and the outside elements like the roadway and obstacles in a crash. A helmet protects riders against many kinds of head and facial injuries, including traumatic brain injuries caused by a blow to the head or the rider’s head hitting the ground. Helmets also protect against skull fractures and penetrating brain injuries. However, even the best helmet doesn’t provide complete protection against every type of brain injury.

A helmet protects the outside of the head during a crash, but when the head experiences a powerful shake, jar, or blow the brain may bump, shake, shift, or twist against the bony inside of the skull. This may result in bleeding, bruising, and swelling inside the skull causing traumatic brain injury. The brain’s nerve cells suffer damage from these types of injuries, sometimes with lasting impacts on abilities. 

When motorcyclists do not wear helmets, they are vulnerable to all types of brain injuries, including those caused by direct blows to the head when crash force propels the rider from the motorcycle onto the road or obstacles. Knowledgeable motorcycle accident lawyers in Atlanta explain that without a helmet, the accident victim is vulnerable to skull fractures, penetrating brain injuries, and crush injuries. 

How Common Are Brain Injuries In Motorcycle Accidents?

Motorcyclists are vulnerable to severe injuries in a crash, particularly when the accident involves a collision with a full-sized vehicle. Sadly, statistics show the propensity of brain injuries resulting from motorcycle accidents:

• Brain injuries are the cause of more than 50% of motorcycle accident fatalities
• Head injuries were present in 90% of those fatally injured in motorcycle accidents even when they were not the cause of death
• Studies of states that repealed helmet laws showed an increase in brain injuries by an average of 30% and by 36.9% in Pennsylvania
• After Texas enacted a helmet law, it reduced injury-related mortality by 50%
• 6,222 motorcyclists were killed in accidents in 2022, the highest number on record and a 23% increase from 2019
• Motorcycle accident deaths tripled between 1997 and 2022
• The World Health Organization (WHO) sites brain injuries as the most common motorcycle accident injuries worldwide

Brain injuries are one of the leading causes of accident-related disability, more so even than spinal cord injuries. Motorcycle accident death rates are 26 times higher than fatality rates in cars.

No motorcycle rider is perfect, and some make careless mistakes or exceed speed limits, but the most common cause of motorcycle accidents is careless action on the part of a driver in a car or truck. Experienced Atlanta brain injury lawyers have seen that drivers negligently sharing the road with motorcyclists without taking reasonable measures to avoid causing injuries can result in catastrophic injuries, including serious brain injuries.