Injuries to the face occurred more
often among unhelmeted motorcyclists,
whereas the incidence of neck injury was
the same in both groups, consistent with
the protective benefits of the helmet. This
observation supports the direct association
between helmet use and reduced
likelihood of head injury.
The average per-patient cost of hospitalization
was 30% higher for unhelmeted
riders in this study, which supports other
recent published findings that the cost of
medical care among unhelmeted riders is
significantly higher.8