Motorcycle accident injury attorneys: Helmets do save lives!

Mandatory or not, there’s no doubt helmets prevent injury.

The debate about whether motorcycle helmet use should be required by law will likely continue as long as motorcycles share the road with every other type of vehicle out there.

Some bikers consider helmet use (or non-use) to be a personal choice; the resulting debate rivaling the Second Amendment in gravity, importance and passion – on either side of the issue. 

“I advocate the use of any piece of safety equipment riders can get their hands on,” said Art Elk, MotorEagles founder. “In my opinion, there’s no reason whatsoever not to wear all available safety gear. I mean, with the technology that’s out there now, a person can get into a pretty bad wreck, yet be able to walk away like Superman.”

But whether a rider believes he should have the right to choose to wear a helmet or not, the numbers do speak for themselves.

The last comprehensive helmet-use study released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which studied data through 2006, painted a pretty convincing picture that motorcycle helmets do save lives.

The study, entitled “Motorcycle Helmet Use Laws,” flatly states that “motorcycle helmets provide the best protection from head injury for motorcyclists involved in traffic crashes.”

Head injury is a leading cause of motorcycle crash deaths, the NHTSA publication states, adding that it estimates that motorcycle helmets reduce the likelihood of a crash fatality by 37 percent.

Billy Price, another MotorEagles lawyer, said he’d like to see safety gear come even farther, but there is a lot of new safety technology out there as it is and riders should use as much as they can.

“I’d still like to see more advances made in safety gear, like with newer, stronger, yet lighter-weight materials – anything to encourage more riders to use it,” Price said. “It’s come a long way already, but it can always get better and that stuff really helps.”

He said there’s really no good reason not to wear a helmet, however.
A Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System study revealed that motorcycle helmets are 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries, “Motorcycle Helmet Use laws” reports. It also states that un-helmeted motorcyclists involved in crashes were three times more likely to suffer brain injuries than those wearing helmets.
To date, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire do not have any state helmet laws.

Of the other 46 states, 20 have full helmet laws for all motorcycle riders:

Alabama, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.

19 States have helmet laws that exempt adult riders, riders over the age of majority -- 18 years old and over. Those states are:
Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

There are 7 states that mandate helmet use for adult bikers between the ages of 18 and 20. They are: Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Texas.