MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS #1 IN A SERIES OF ➄ -- WEARING A HELMET CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE AND PREVENT SERIOUS INJURY, SUCH AS BRAIN DAMAGE, OR EVEN DEATH
FROM: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Brooklyn Injury Lawyer)
Contrasted with cars, motorcycles are a particularly dangerous form of travel. The federal government estimates that, in 2006, per mile traveled the number of deaths due to motorcycle accidents was about 35 times greater than that suffered by people in cars
Motorcyclist deaths have been rising in recent years -- more than doubling by 2007 from a record low in 1997. In 2007, more motorcycle riders died in crashes than in any year since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began collecting statistics about fatal crashes. In contrast, passenger vehicle occupant deaths reached a record low in 2007. Motorcycles often have excessive performance capabilities, including especially rapid acceleration and high top speeds. They are less stable than cars when emergency braking and less visible to other motorists.
Motorcyclists are more prone to injury than car occupants because motorcycles are unenclosed, leaving riders vulnerable to contact with hard road surfaces - which hurts!. This is why wearing a helmet, as well as other protective clothing, is so important. Helmets are the principal measure for reducing motorcycle accident-related head injuries, which is the leading cause of death among riders not wearing helmets.
Q: What do we call riders who don't wear helmets? A: Organ donors.
THE TEN THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT LAWS REQUIRING HELMETED MOTORCYCLE RIDERS.
1. Q: Do helmets work?
A: Helmets lessen the severity of head injury, the likelihood of death, and the extent of post-accident medical care. They are designed to soften the impact to riders' heads from a crash. Just like safety belts in cars, helmets do not provide complete protection in an accident, but they do decrease the harm suffered by motorcycle riders. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that wearing a helmet while on a motorcycle reduces the possibility of death from an accident by 37%. Helmets are especially good at preventing brain injury, which can often require long-term treatment and may result in a permanent disability. While crash studies have not evaluated the effectiveness of novelty or "salad bowl" helmets - which are not certified as meeting U.S. Department of Transportation standards - anecdotal evidence suggests that head injuries are much more likely with these helmets than with those carrying D.O.T. certification.
2. Q: Is there a downside to wearing a helmet?
A: Some riders claim that wearing a helmet makes the wearer's head heavier, so that there is an increased chance of neck injury and reduced peripheral vision and ability to hear. There is no scientific support to such arguments, and a scientific study conducted in 1994 found that "helmets reduce head injuries without an increased occurrence of spinal injuries in motorcycle trauma."
Studies also prove that full-coverage helmets only slightly limit horizontal peripheral vision.
To compensate for any limits in side-to-side (lateral) vision, riders tend to increase their head rotation prior to a lane change. Hearing appears unaffected by helmets because motorcycles tend to have "loud pipes," so that noises loud enough to be heard over the sound of the engine usually can be heard while wearing a helmet.
