66% of serious injuries incurred by motorcyclists in Great Britain are leg injuries. Surveys of motorcycle accident data which show the collision configurations and speeds which typically cause leg injuries are reviewed. The majority of these injuries occur at fairly moderate speeds (<50 Km/hr) and at oblique angles of impact between the motorcycle and the opposing vehicle. Leg protection devices have, for some time, been considered to reduce the likelihood or severity of leg injuries in these types of impact. A series of tests was devised using a Norton Interpol II, to examine the performance of leg protectors, designed to the draft United Kingdom leg protection specification. The test series, equipment and test procedure are described. The purpose of the test series was twofold. The first aim was to show the effect of leg protection on potential leg injuries in those types of impacts where leg injuries are common. The second purpose was to demonstrate that leg protectors do not increase the risk of injury to other parts of the body in these, or in other impact configurations, e.g. head-on collisions, where serious and fatal upper body injuries are more prevalent. Various methods are employed to assess the potential injury and the results are discussed with respect to these considerations. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference, see IRRD 837684.
Abstract