Traumatic Brain Injuries From Motorcycle Collisions

Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury?

If you or someone you love has suffered an injury or head trauma related to a motorcycle crash, there are a variety of common TBI signs and symptoms you should look for. Be aware, however, that in addition to the conditions listed here, TBI can present in various other ways so you should always seek a thorough medical evaluation.

Sources: Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic & National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

In the Event of a Traumatic Brain Injury, What Can I Expect in Terms of Diagnosis and Treatment?

There are a variety of methods used by healthcare professionals to obtain an accurate traumatic brain injury diagnosis, including both physical and neurological clinical evaluations, as well as imaging such as CT scans or MRIs to assess the extent of the injury. 

In addition to any abnormalities found on the imaging and evaluation, your healthcare provider will consider other factors, including any extended loss of consciousness, neurological symptoms exhibited at the time of injury, and memory loss resulting from or related to the injury itself.

Your healthcare provider team will then use the Glasgow Coma Scale to classify the injury as mild, moderate, or severe — with treatment and follow-up care designed accordingly. This may include:

• Immediate Care — The first priority is always ensuring the patient is breathing and maintaining blood flow to the brain.
• Medications — A variety of treatments and prescriptions can help manage common symptoms like pain, seizures, or muscle spasticity.
• Hospitalization — In severe cases, monitoring and potential surgical intervention may be required.
• Rehabilitation — A combination of physical, occupational, and speech therapy can help address any deficits resulting from the injury.

• Monitoring — Regular check-ups allow caregivers to monitor the patient’s recovery and address any ongoing issues.
• Support — Access to support services can help both the patient and family cope with any long-term TBI impacts.

What Long-Term Effects Should I Be Concerned About?

Patients with mild head trauma injuries can typically heal and return to normal routines relatively quickly. In more severe cases, there are lingering symptoms or disabilities that need to be evaluated and addressed on an individual basis. 

The Top 5 Reasons Why Motorcycle Riding Is So Risky

Let’s take a closer look at why driving or riding a motorcycle represents an increased danger of traumatic brain injury when compared to operating other vehicles: 

1. They Have More Physical Exposure — Motorcyclists lack the protective physical structure provided by a car, making them more susceptible to bodily injuries in collisions.
   
2. They Are Less Visible

1. 1.  Motorcycles are much smaller than cars and trucks and therefore less visible to other drivers, increasing the risk of collisions. In fact, many car and truck drivers involved in crashes with motorcyclists admit that they “never saw the motorcycle” before an incident. Often, these crashes occur when the car or truck driver violates the right-of-way of the motorcyclist, putting them at fault for the incident. This happens so often that engineering researchers have a name for it—they call it an LBFTS—a “looked but failed to see” crash.  
   2. In the article “Safety of Motorised Two Wheelers in Mixed Traffic Conditions: Literature Review of Risk Factors,” research spanning many years and countries concludes that motorcyclists “have added vulnerability on roads due to their smaller front view as compared to other vehicle classes. This invariably results in overlooking the motorcycles more than other cars by the car drivers, especially at intersections.”
   3. Safety engineers call this “attention conspicuity,” which is the ability to “suddenly detect an unexpected motorcycle.” In plain language, this means a car or truck driver often doesn’t see a motorcycle that is in view because they negligently overlook motorcyclists while searching for cars.
2. They Are More Vulnerable to Adverse Weather Conditions and Road Hazards — Debris, potholes, uneven road surfaces and conditions such as fog, rain, and ice can all affect a driver’s control and balance, causing them to crash. According to the IIHS, motorcycles are “​​less stable than passenger vehicles during maneuvers such as emergency braking and swerving.”
3. They Require More Skill and Experience — Not surprisingly, operating a motorcycle safely requires more coordination and expertise than driving a car. According to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, although motorcycle licensing regulations vary by state, all states require a motorcycle license endorsement in addition to a standard automobile driver’s license. And in most states, drivers must pass written and hands-on skills tests while in others, a state-sponsored education course is also required.
4. The Growing Popularity of Racing-Style Motorcycles — Known as “supersport” motorcycles, these lightweight vehicles can quickly accelerate to speeds of 160+ mph. Although originally designed for racing, they’ve become especially popular among young drivers — leading to risky behavior, injury, and death rates that are nearly 4 times higher than standard models.

Statistics About the Motorcycle Collision-Traumatic Brain Injury Connection

• Motorcycle collisions are a leading global cause of unnatural death. Nearly half of all traffic fatalities occur among those with the least protection: highest observed with motorcyclists (23%), pedestrians (22%), and cyclists (4%). 
• Motorcycle riders are more susceptible to injury if involved in a crash and are reported to suffer a 26 times increased risk of death in a crash than drivers of other vehicle types. 
• Motorcycles account for 8-19% of road collision deaths — the majority of which are secondary to head trauma.
• According to one study, the employment rate before sustaining a moderate or severe TBI was 80%, but the rate was just 15% three months after injury, and the rate had only increased to 55% three years following injury. 
• Helmeted motorcycle riders have up to an 85 percent reduced incidence of severe, serious, and critical brain injuries compared with unhelmeted riders.
• The average inpatient care costs for motorcyclists who sustain a brain injury are more than twice the costs incurred by hospitalized motorcyclists without brain injury.
• In states with universal helmet use laws, helmet use is close to 100 percent. When universal helmet use laws are enacted, helmet use increases and fatalities and serious injuries decrease. When they are repealed, the opposite occurs.

Sources: The National Library of Medicine & American College of Surgeons

The Helmet: A Motorcycle Driver’s Best Defense Against Traumatic Brain Injury

To mitigate the substantial risk of traumatic brain injury, it’s crucial that all motorcycle drivers and passengers stay alert, practice safe riding techniques, and always use proper safety gear — starting with a helmet. 

Experts agree: A motorcycle helmet is the best protection against a direct head impact in the event of a crash. And while a growing number of states always require that drivers and passengers wear helmets, public safety professionals and advocates routinely express concerns about laws that are relaxed or haphazardly enforced. 

According to the National Library of Medicine, when motorcycle collisions occur leading to head injuries, a lack of helmet use is linked to abnormal brain imaging, more complications, and longer hospital stays.