Relationship between skin abrasion injuries and clothing material characteristics in motorcycle crashes

• Investigated material type and skin/material friction on motorcycle abrasion injury
• Commonly injured body regions were the knee and the elbow.
• Heavy cotton and fleecy cotton had significantly more abrasive skin injuries.
• Polyester linings typically had lower dynamic coefficients of friction against skin.
• No significant relationship with the friction and occurrence of skin abrasion injuries

In recent years, increases in motorcycle registrations have led to increases in the numbers of motorcycle casualties. Abrasion injuries are the most common injury to crashed motorcyclists and can still occur when the skin is fully protected by motorcycle specific clothing. This study investigated abrasion injuries and whether the type of material and the dynamic coefficient of friction (COF) of that material against skin could predict injury. This investigation was performed on a sample of riders who were involved in crashes (n = 92). The dynamic COF of the materials worn by the riders against an artificial skin substitute, Lorica® Soft, was determined using a biaxial materials testing machine. The occurrence of abrasion injuries for each of the riders was recorded and the injury outcome was compared to the type of material and the COF of these materials. Riders wearing heavy cotton and fleecy cotton knit sustained significantly more abrasion injuries than riders who wore other materials. No relationship was found between the dynamic COF of the materials and the likelihood of abrasion injuries to crashed motorcyclists. These results suggest that some materials are associated with higher levels of abrasion injuries, yet the COF may not be used to predict abrasion injury.