Bikers Fight to Ride Free — and Win
Source: Wall Street Journal
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released preliminary results on highway safety numbers from 2006 and while they found an overall reduction in the number of motor-vehicle-related fatalities, they found that motorcycle fatalities were on the rise. The total fatalities last year were 42,642, which is the lowest number in five years and the lowest rate per 100 million miles traveled the government has ever recorded. However, of the 42,642 total fatalities, 4,810 were motorcycle-related, which is 11% of total deaths—the largest share ever for motorcyclists. The 4,810 figure was an increase of 5.1% from the previous year and it was the ninth consecutive year that the figure increased.
Unlike the automobile industry, where national campaigns to increase the awareness of safety precautions have been largely successful in changing lax behavior, the motorcycle industry has not seen such campaigns. In fact, quite the opposite has happened. Motorcyclists have a reputation as individualists and as motorcycle sales have grown so has the ability to influence legislation regulating motorcycle riding. Some 30 states, due to lobbying by rider groups, have repealed laws that require riders to wear a helmet—even though evidence clearly shows that when riders don't wear helmets, deaths from an accident rise sharply. About 66% of riders who died in helmet-optional states weren't wearing head protection, according to the 2006 NHTSA study.
The motorcycle industry promotes wearing a helmet when riding, but it hasn't backed national helmet laws. The anti-helmet rider groups note that adults should be able to make their own decisions regarding helmet wearing. Some say that wearing helmets is actually more dangerous because it cuts down on one's peripheral vision. However, Dr. Philip Brewer, director of University Health Services at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and a former rider himself, dismisses the claim that helmets are not safe. "The science is absolutely clear," he says. "You have a higher fatality rate when you are not wearing a helmet."
As of right now, the national mood on helmet requirements is clearly in favor of those for choice, so each rider in a state that does not require helmets, must decide for him or herself on this important issue.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released preliminary results on highway safety numbers from 2006 and while they found an overall reduction in the number of motor-vehicle-related fatalities, they found that motorcycle fatalities were on the rise. The total fatalities last year were 42,642, which is the lowest number in five years and the lowest rate per 100 million miles traveled the government has ever recorded. However, of the 42,642 total fatalities, 4,810 were motorcycle-related, which is 11% of total deaths—the largest share ever for motorcyclists. The 4,810 figure was an increase of 5.1% from the previous year and it was the ninth consecutive year that the figure increased.
Unlike the automobile industry, where national campaigns to increase the awareness of safety precautions have been largely successful in changing lax behavior, the motorcycle industry has not seen such campaigns. In fact, quite the opposite has happened. Motorcyclists have a reputation as individualists and as motorcycle sales have grown so has the ability to influence legislation regulating motorcycle riding. Some 30 states, due to lobbying by rider groups, have repealed laws that require riders to wear a helmet—even though evidence clearly shows that when riders don't wear helmets, deaths from an accident rise sharply. About 66% of riders who died in helmet-optional states weren't wearing head protection, according to the 2006 NHTSA study.
The motorcycle industry promotes wearing a helmet when riding, but it hasn't backed national helmet laws. The anti-helmet rider groups note that adults should be able to make their own decisions regarding helmet wearing. Some say that wearing helmets is actually more dangerous because it cuts down on one's peripheral vision. However, Dr. Philip Brewer, director of University Health Services at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and a former rider himself, dismisses the claim that helmets are not safe. "The science is absolutely clear," he says. "You have a higher fatality rate when you are not wearing a helmet."
As of right now, the national mood on helmet requirements is clearly in favor of those for choice, so each rider in a state that does not require helmets, must decide for him or herself on this important issue.
Labels: motorcycles
posted by Belluck & Fox at
9:31 AM
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