USA TODAY view: Motorcycle madness
When mandates are repealed, deaths and injuries increase.
If you ride a motorcycle, you're 37 times more likely to die in a crash than someone in a passenger car. Motorcycle deaths have more than doubled in the past 10 years, and motorcycle accidents kill more Americans each year than all the nation's much higher-profile plane crashes, ship disasters, pipeline explosions and railway accidents combined.
But motorcycles are economical, popular and - as many people who've been on them will testify - seductively fun to ride. So how do you reduce their toll without severely restricting their use?
There's one proven method that the nation, regrettably, has moved away from.
For years, the federal government withheld highway money from states that didn't require motorcyclists to wear helmets. Study after study has shown that helmets save lives: A University of Southern California analysis showed that helmets were the single most important factor in surviving motorcycle accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that helmets saved more than 19,000 motorcyclists from 1984 to 2006.
But Congress rescinded its helmet policy in 1995, and states, under pressure from free-choice groups that advocate the right not to wear helmets, began repealing their helmet laws. Now, an analysis of federal accident reports by Gannett News Service finds that death rates have risen steadily since then. As helmet use has dropped, motorcycle deaths have increased by about a third, from 5.5 deaths for every 10,000 registered motorcycles in 1997 to 7.3 deaths in 2006.
Just 20 states now require all riders to wear helmets, while 27 others mandate them only for younger riders and/or passengers. Three states - Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire - have no requirements.
Groups that oppose helmet laws insist it's their right to ride bare-headed. They argue that accidents hurt no one but the riders, and that the best way to prevent harm is not helmets, but training and education for motorcyclists and other motorists.
If only that were so.
The fact is, motorcycle crashes spread pain far beyond their victims. In 2005, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, bikers without helmets figured in 36% of motorcycle crashes but accounted for 70% of their $12.2 billion cost.
The human cost is even greater. A rider's death or disability can do terrible damage to families, companies and communities. That has always been a strong argument for seat belts, and it's just as convincing a case for motorcycle helmets.
And while training can reduce accidents, it will never eliminate human error. Simon Rosa, 22, of Virginia was involved in a crash that left scratches all over his helmet that could just as well have been gouges in his head. "You just never know what's going to happen, regardless of how good a rider you are," he told Gannett.
Motorcycles are dangerous enough already. It's unfortunate that legislatures undid mandates that helped save thousands of lives. If states won't recognize their folly, Congress would do well to press them to reinstate helmet laws.
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Originally published April 1, 2008
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