In a study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgery, researchers debunked the myth that motorcycle helmets are associated with a higher risk of cervical spine injury. Helmeted motorcycle riders experienced a 22 percent reduction in the odds of this type of injury compared to non-helmeted riders. Data was obtained after analyzing 40,890 motorcycle accidents from the National Trauma Data Bank, and the results revealed that in addition to a decrease in cervical spine injury, helmeted motorcyclists also suffered less severe head injury, shock, traumatic brain injury and their odds of death decreased by 37 percent.
As only 20 states possess mandatory helmet laws, ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross believes this new study should be used to enforce stricter legislation for helmet safety since the statistics deflate the apocrypha that helmets increase the risk of cervical spine injury. “I always tell people to forget about the alleged dangers of plastics and the supposed toxins found in water and focus instead on the real dangers posed by not wearing a seat-belt or not using a helmet while riding a bicycle or motorcycle,” he says.