"Status Report: Riding is Risky Fun"

[James Burleigh]

March 31, 2010, Report on Motorcycle Safety by IIHS.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

from the report:

"Helmet use: The National Highway TrafficSafety Administration estimates that 67

percent of motorcyclists in 2009 wore helmets

that comply with federal safety standards.

Seventy-three percent of riders the

Institute surveyed said they always wear a

helmet, and 9 percent said they often wear

one. Five percent said they never do."

That appears to be a very specious statistic. From what I see, in non-helmet-law states, very few riders wear helmets. In fact, riders of one particular brand of m/c (one of the largest-selling brands) eschew helmets and protective gear almost totally.

(bad stats in one place cast doubt upon the whole report..., IMO)

Will the adoption of computer controlled braking devices offset riding without protective gear (or, proper skills...)?

I guess we'll see... :huh: :blink:

 

[UselessPickles]

That appears to be a very specious statistic.

That statistic must be a composite of all states. Did you look at the chart that was broken down by different levels of state helmet law requirements? For states with no helmet requirement, the results were 53% always, 15% often, 11% sometimes, 21% rarely/never.

That's crazy. I feel naked if I just ride across a parking lot without my helmet.

 

[tesla]

What I found odd was that accident insurance claims for beginning riders actually went up rather than down for those states that require motorcycle training course before getting their license. Is this because the rider is more likely to have more riding experience before he takes the riding test?