Helmets Save Lives, Head-To-Head Motorcycle Study Finds
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 28, 2025 — Motorcycle helmet laws save lives and prevent many severe injuries, according to a new head-to-head study comparing two states.
North Carolina mandates helmets for all motorcyclists, while South Carolina only requires riders younger than 21 to wear them, researchers said.
As a result, North Carolina riders had fewer severe injuries and were less likely to require treatment in an intensive care unit after an accident, researchers reported recently in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
“The two states’ differing laws created a natural experiment,” senior researcher Dr. Britton Christmas, medical director of trauma at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C., said in a news release.
“The results are clear: helmets save lives, and universal laws ensure they’re used,” Christmas said.
Only 19 states now have universal helmet laws, a sharp decline from 47 states 50 years ago, researchers said in background notes.
Efforts from motorcycle groups have driven these repeals, despite trauma surgeons noting the importance of helmets, researchers said.
“I’ve testified against repeals in North Carolina because the data doesn’t lie,” Christmas said. “When helmets aren’t required, fewer people wear them, and more die or face life-altering injuries.”
For the study, researchers tracked all motorcycle crash patients treated at the Carolinas Medical Center between July 2012 and 2022.
Charlotte is near the state line between the Carolinas, and the hospital’s trauma center regularly treats patients from both states.
Nearly 2,200 patients were treated during the study period for injuries sustained in a motorcycle wreck, researchers said.
About 94% of those in North Carolina were wearing a helmet compared with 52% of those from South Carolina, the study says.
Helmeted patients had less severe injuries overall, results show.
Importantly, only 25% of helmeted riders needed ICU treatment, compared with 39% of riders not wearing helmets, researchers said.
Riders without helmets also required longer ICU stays and spent more time on a ventilator, the study says.
Overall, 7% of riders without helmets died, compared to just over 4% of those wearing a helmet.
Results also show that South Carolina’s under-21 helmet requirement was not effective, with 33% of that state’s young riders not wearing a helmet during a crash compared to 10% in North Carolina.
“Universal laws normalize helmet use,” lead researcher Dr. Stephanie Jensen, a surgical resident with the Carolinas Medical Center, said in a news release. “When young riders see adults without helmets, they question their necessity, and the results are tragic.”
Sources
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
Source: HealthDay
Posted : 2025-05-29 00:00
Read more

- Billy Joel Cancels Tour After Brain Condition Diagnosis
- 9 In 10 U.S. Teens Have Been Cyberbullied
- Zepbound (tirzepatide) Showed Superior Weight Loss Over Wegovy (semaglutide) in Complete SURMOUNT-5 Results Published in The New England Journal of Medicine
- ASCO: Alcohol-Associated Cancer Mortality Increased From 1990 to 2021
- Mepolizumab Yields Lower Rate of Moderate/Severe Exacerbations in COPD
- Hormel Recalls Over 256,000 Pounds of Canned Beef Stew
Disclaimer
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Drugslib.com is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Drugslib.com information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Drugslib.com does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Drugslib.com's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Drugslib.com's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners.
The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Drugslib.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Drugslib.com provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.
Popular Keywords
- metformin obat apa
- alahan panjang
- glimepiride obat apa
- takikardia adalah
- erau ernie
- pradiabetes
- besar88
- atrofi adalah
- kutu anjing
- trakeostomi
- mayzent pi
- enbrel auto injector not working
- enbrel interactions
- lenvima life expectancy
- leqvio pi
- what is lenvima
- lenvima pi
- empagliflozin-linagliptin
- encourage foundation for enbrel
- qulipta drug interactions