How many injuries after accidents are due to....

[Lupine Lacuna]

poor gear?

And by that I don't mean wearing a shell suit, I mean, say full leathers but with low quality armour, or poorly fitted leathers and or armour, etc?

What is the best thing to do to protect yourself?

I am contemplating covering myself in Forcefield armour, then in my (which I already have) Kevlar jeans and then a seperate leather jacket. Is this a good idea?

[Kickstart]

Hi

Suspect plenty comes down to luck as the the actual accident you have.

Think T.C has said that armour can cause injuries (from memory one was is back protectors riding up in an accident until they hit the helmet, ramming the riders head and breaking their neck).

All the best

Keith
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[G]

If you want to spend time and money protecting yourself, to my mind the very best thing you can do is learn not to crash.

The vast vast majority of crashes could be pretty easily avoided with some appropriate training (both fault and 'non fault'), so that's what I'd focus on first.

I've certainly had minor injuries due to ill fitting 'protection'.

Good fitting clothing is certainly a good start. And of course the best gear is the gear you actually use.
Fitted one piece leathers are going to offer the best protection.

[yambabe]

What Keith says basically.

If having more gear makes you feel safer, by all means go for it but don't fall into the trap of thinking that cos you are wearing "better" armour you are now invincible and can ride like an idiot.

It's all headology isn't it?
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[stinkwheel]

Badly fitting or poorly restrained armour is a problem because it can cause a stress point/edge where you go from the armoured to non-armoured point and encourage further injuries such as broken bones.

I have heard anecdotal accounts of a Marks and Spencer cheese sandwich having been put in the testing machine on a quiet Friday afternoon and passing the required test to gain a CE mark for motorcycle body armour. I believe this to be true and no, I don't know what sort of cheese.

As a general rule though, your gear doesn't give you as much protection as you think it does. It's all pretty good at abrasion resistance. Impacts are another thing entirely.

Trying not to fall off in the first place is the best plan. I personally would rather have no armour than poorly fitting armour which is why I took it out of my jeans.
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[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[dudders7]

I think this would be the best safety you could get, on the expensive side but as we used to say to customers in the bike shop I worked at when they complained a helmet was to expensive the response was "how much is your or your childs neck worth?" https://www.getgeared.co.uk/HIT-AIR_GS-3_Airbag_Motorcycle_Jacket
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[Kickstart]

[G]

[stinkwheel]

[P.]

I had trainers, textile bottoms and textile jacket all with armour removed.
I had a crash yesterday and aside from the engine casing/exhausts burning through the textiles I came off relatively well.

I've crashed in leathers before and just has scuffed leathers

Then again, the only time I've ever worn full gear (leather 2 piece, boots, back armour, kevlar gloves) I suffered the worst injuries I have ever had and am lucky to be alive

[dudders7]

[Lupine Lacuna]

But surely something like knee pads makes a huge difference? Imagine a slow speed spill and then hitting the knee into something. If there is nothing to absorb the impact you are seriuosly stuffed.

[P.]

[G]

[stinkwheel]

[Kickstart]

[G]

[Rogerborg]

[G]

Pipe and slippers, it would seem, doesn't make you good at noticing black ice .

[keggyhander]

[bikertomm]

In response to OP, probably very little.
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[MarJay]

I recently have had a crash.

I was wearing elbow armour, armoured gloves and a cordura jacket. I broke my wrist badly. I smashed it into 5 pieces.

I was wearing jeans... I didn't injure my legs.

I was wearing non flex sole boots with armour and tough leather uppers. I broke my foot in three places. The boot was undamaged.

The conclusion you can draw from this is... its all down to the luck of the draw anyway. I could go out tomorrow wearing Crowtree leathers, an Arai, full Knox protection including chest and back, and some Daytona boots, and I could crash and die. Or I could go out tomorrow with a piss pot lid, a paddock jacket, jeans and trainers, and I could crash and bruise my knee.

There are more factors in an accident than just protection.
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[LordShaftesbu...]

When I had my off I was wearing no leg protection. The only part of my body that was injured was my legs, specifically a broken kneecap and severe abrasion injury on that knee. If I'd had my textile trousers on, my kneecap would probably not have fractured and I definitely wouldn't have had the open wound. It was the open wound which meant I needed to go into theatre, and it was the surgery which left me with no sensation in the skin over that knee.

I always wear my padded trousers now.

[Shaft]

I've never worn armour and never felt the need to, the closest I've come to it was when I had my leathers made; they had a double layer of material and some padding in strategic areas, but I never put them to the test, so I can't comment on whether it makes a difference.

Having said that, I do watch speedway, where broken bones are an occupational hazard; during the season, a week hardly goes by without at least one rider breaking something.

They abandoned leathers some years ago, preferring the lighter weight and easier movement offered by kevlar based suits, but armour is mandatory; elbows, knees, hips, shoulders and back, with some riders now using neck braces.

Average speeds are in the order of 50mph and probably 95+% of injuries are caused by impacts, either with the ground, the safety fence, or another rider(s).

Most common injuries are broken hands, ankles, collarbones and legs/thighs, pretty much all the bits that aren't protected by armour, and that's the same set of injuries that were common before armour was invented.

The only conclusion I can draw is, armour seems a bit of a waste of time, because it protects the bits that don't seem to come off badly in impact accidents; might save you a few bruises at low speeds, but anything over, say, 20mph it's still a lottery.
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