Face the facts: a characterisation of 2013–2025 UK motorcycle collisions, head impact locations and injury outcomes supporting facial impact testing

Claire Baker, Zhuoxiaoyue Wang, Lucas Low, Emily Ashworth, Mark Wilson, David Sharp, Nils Lübbe, Shiyang Meng, Mazdak Ghajari

Traffic Safety Research, 2026

Abstract

There is limited contemporary evidence on head impact conditions and injuries in motorcyclists, despite substantial recent changes in vehicles, helmet design and test standards. This constrains evidence-driven improvements to helmet protection and impact test protocols, particularly for underrepresented facial impacts. We quantified head impact locations and associated head and facial injury distributions in 12 years of motorcycle collisions from Great Britain’s Road Accident In-Depth Studies (RAIDS) database (1 April 2013–31 March 2025). Injuries were classified using Abbreviated Injury Scale codes augmented with free-text identification of clinically utilised Mayo-classified brain injury, and primary helmet impact location was derived from investiga-tor summaries and helmet photographs. Most of the 353 motorcyclists were injured (93%) and male (90%), and 2% were unhelmeted. One third sustained at least one head injury and 24.9% sustained Mayo-classified traumatic brain injury (19.0% moderate–severe). Facial injuries occurred in 12.2%, including 4.4% with facial fracture. Skull fractures (including basilar) and intracranial haemorrhage were also common. Head and facial injuries…

Cite as (BibTeX)

@article{baker-2026-face-the-facts-a,
  title={Face the facts: a characterisation of 2013–2025 UK motorcycle collisions, head impact locations and injury outcomes supporting facial impact testing},
  author={Claire Baker and Zhuoxiaoyue Wang and Lucas Low and Emily Ashworth and Mark Wilson and David Sharp and Nils Lübbe and Shiyang Meng and Mazdak Ghajari},
  journal={Traffic Safety Research},
  year={2026},
  doi={10.55329/kohk5876}
}