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Due to the amount of tragic and potentially deadly injuries Americans have recently sustained while riding bicycles or motorcycles, the National Transpotation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued its own “Most Wanted List.” The NTSB’s list does not concern criminals, but instead the list was a press release calling for mandatory motorcycle helmets as one of the nation’s most needed transportation safety improvement. In 1966 the Highway Safety Act mandated use of helmets for motorcycle riders, which 47 states followed. However, a mere 3 years after the Act the mandatory helmet laws were repealed. Afterwards, motocycle deaths increased dramatically. The repeal of mandatory helmets laws was a sad course of action for our nation. Today, only 20 states have mandatory helmet laws.
Scientific data and studies reveal that helmets decrease the risk of death by 39%. A 1992 study suggested that the chance of brain injury in those riders not wearing a helmet was 66%, compared to 38% of those riders who did wear a helmet. The most deadly or severest forms of personal brain injuries occur most frequently in men between the ages of 15 and 24-years-old. In a study by the University of Southern California, which supported the notion that the worst injuries occur within this age group, two-thirds of motorcycle accidents were caused by rider error such as over-breaking, running wide onurve or excess speeding.
In 2008, 653 child bicycle deaths were reported – of those deaths, only 8% of the children were wearing helmets. Bicycle helmets reduce risk of serious traumatic brain injuries by 95%. However, only 35% of bicycle riders wear helmets. If you would like to read more on this topic please see Helmets saves lives for adult and child cyclists.