Nonono, I'm not talking about them becoming brittle. The cause for them splitting, instead of breaking cleanly, is apparently because they are so strong. It's true that they will not break nearly as fast, but if they break, it will not break cleanly.
I'm trying to look up references, will probably get back to you with some links.
Well, then I think I know what you mean, but that should be more down to the type of bone that breaks and how.
Take shin bone for instance, wich has a ugly tendency to require surgery to fix, as it often fractures in bad ways. Take comminuted fractures as an example. Comminuted have the splintering I think you are talking about.
How clean a frature is depends alot on how it is broken, if you land akwardly you will break your leg differently(lets say spiral fracture common in judo), than if lets say a muay thai fighter breaks opponents leg with a kick(simple,compound I suspect)
