Motorcycle helmet safety: Is full-face better than open-face? The answer may surprise you!

I have looked at over 100 studies into the efficacy of motorcycle helmets in preventing serious injury in the event of an accident. Many of these studies take a comparative look at full-face, open-face and half-helmets. In this video I try to summarise the main points I have learned from reading these studies.

Here are the references for the main studies I refer to in the video:

Cannell, H., King, J.B., Winch, R.D., 1982. Head and facial injuries after low-speed motor-cycle accidents. Br. J. Oral Surg. 20 (3), 183–191.
Capewell, S., Reece, V.A., Milne, D.D., 1984. Motorcyclists should be encouraged to wear full face crash helmets. Br. Med. J. Clin. Res. Ed. 288 (6425), 1230–1231.
Demarco, A., Chimich, D., Gardiner, J., Nightengale, R., Siegmund, G., 2007. Motorcycle helmet impact response: comparison of helmet type and impact severity. Proceedings of the 34th International Workshop on Human Subjects for Biomechanical Research.
Erhardt, T., Rice, T., Troszak, L., Zhu, M., 2016. Motorcycle helmet type and the risk of head injury and neck injury during motorcycle collisions in California. Accid. Anal. Prev. 86, 23–28.
Freitas, C.A., Furtado, A.M., Petterle, R.R., Pimentel, S.K., Carvalho, F.H., 2018. Helmet retention system types as a risk factor to properly attach the chin strap. Traffic Inj. Prev. 19 (2), 173–178.
Hitosugi, M., Shigeta, A., Takatsu, A., Yokoyama, T., Tokudome, S., 2004. Analysis of fatal injuries to motorcyclists by helmet type. Am. J. Forensic Med. Pathol. 25 (2), 125–128.
Lam, C., Lin, M.-R., Chu, S.-F., Tsai, S.-H., Bai, C.-H., Chiu, W.-T., 2015a. The effect of various types of motorcycle helmets on cervical spine injury in head injury patients: a multicenter study in Taiwan. Biomed Res. Int. 2015.
Lin, M.R., Tsauo, J.Y., Hwang, H.F., Chen, C.Y., Tsai, L.W., Chiu, W.T., 2004. Relation between motorcycle helmet use and cervical spinal cord injury. Neuroepidemiology 23 (6), 269–274.
Liu, C.H., 2012. The injury severity of the face, head and neck of motorcyclists in different types of helmets during motor vehicle accidents. Ann. Emerg. Med. 60 (4). S38-S38.
Liu, C.H., Huang, Y.C., 2007. The relationship between facial bone fractures with accompanied injuries and the helmet types of the motorcyclists in traffic accidents. Ann. Emerg. Med. 50 (3). S100-S100.
Liu, B.C., Ivers, R., Norton, R., Boufous, S., Blows, S., Lo, S.K., 2008. Helmets for preventing injury in motorcycle riders. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. (1) CD004333.
Macleod, J.B.A., Digiacomo, J.C., Tinkoff, G., 2010. An evidence-based review: helmet efficacy to reduce head injury and mortality in motorcycle crashes: east practice management guidelines. J. Trauma Inj. Infect. Crit. Care 69 (5), 1101–1111.
Norvell, D.C., Cummings, P., 2002. Association of helmet use with death in motorcycle crashes: a matched-pair cohort study. Amjepidemiol 156 (5), 483–487.
O’connor, P.J., 2005. Motorcycle helmets and spinal cord injury: helmet usage and type. Traffic Inj. Prev. 6 (1), 60–66.
Povey, W.G., Arsenault, G., 1996. Re: “Case-control study of the effectiveness of different types of helmets for the prevention of head injuries among motorcycle riders in Taipei, Taiwan”. Am. J. Epidemiol. 144 (7), 709–710.
Ramli, R., Oxley, J., 2016. Motorcycle helmet fixation status is more crucial than helmet type in providing protection to the head. Injury 47 (11), 2442–2449.
Ramli, R., Oxley, J., Hillard, P., Mohd Sadullah, A.F., Mcclure, R., 2014. The effect of motorcycle helmet type, components and fixation status on facial injury in Klang valley, Malaysia: a case control study. BMC Emerg. Med. 14, 17.
Richter, M., Otte, D., Lehmann, U., Chinn, B., Schuller, E., Doyle, D., Sturrock, K., Krettek, C., 2001. Head injury mechanisms in helmet-protected motorcyclists: prospective multicenter study. J. Trauma 51 (5), 949–958.
Sung, K.M., Noble, J., Kim, S.C., Jeon, H.J., Kim, J.Y., Do, H.H., Park, S.O., Lee, K.R., Baek, K.J., 2016. The preventive effect of head injury by helmet type in motorcycle crashes: a rural Korean single-center observational study. Biomed Res. Int. 2016, 1849134.
Tsai, Y.J., Wang, J.D., Huang, W.F., 1995. Case-control study of the effectiveness of
different types of helmets for the prevention of head injuries among motorcycle riders in Taipei, Taiwan. Amjepidemiol 142 (9), 974–981.
Wong, S.L., Liu, C.H., Huang, Y.C., 2008. Assessing the facial, head and neck injuries of in various types of helmets during motor vehicle crashes using the abbreviated injury scale. Ann. Emerg. Med. 52 (4), S142–S143.
Yokoyama, T., Kawamata, H., Hitosugi, M., Sasaki, T., Imai, Y., 2006. Relationship between the severity of oral and maxillofacial injuries and helmet use by type in motorcycle accidents. Dokkyo J. Med. Sci. 33 (1), 11–16.
Yu, W.-Y., Chen, C.-Y., Chiu, W.-T., Lin, M.-R., 2011a. Effectiveness of different types of motorcycle helmets and effects of their improper use on head injuries. Int. J. Epidemiol. 40 (3), 794–803.