The UISP Lega Motociclismo Lombardia, an Italian motocross and minicross racing federation, now requires all riders to wear a neck brace during its racing competitions.
The UISP is the first motocross racing federation to establish neck braces as part of its riders required racing gear. The new rule requiring the neck brace was announced in late December for all races starting in 2015. The regulation was made to save lives and prevent injury, according to the UISP announcement. The new rules also stipulate that foam neck gear would not qualify as a neck brace under the new rules, and that chest and spinal back protectors must be compatible with the neck brace.
Dr. Chris Leatt, founder of Leatt Corporation and developer of its neck braces, including a variety of neck brace designs especially designed to work with body armor for chest and back, applauded the move by UISP. “The driving force of all our neck brace innovations, and our company, has been the need to prevent death and serious injury to the neck,” Dr. Leatt said. “I have no doubt that this action by the UISP will indeed be beneficial to all the racers in Italy and will allow our neck braces to do what they were designed to do: help protect racers, and anyone riding a motorcycle, who can be at risk in these exciting, high-velocity races.”
Leatt Corporation CEO Sean Macdonald added that the UISP action should be echoed throughout the industry. “Our neck braces are the gold standard of safety for athletes in a wide variety of high velocity sports around the world,” Macdonald said. “We hope that other jurisdictions around the world will follow the lead of the UISP and take this kind of action to ensure the safety of the athletes.”
