Since 2018, over 8 million motorcycles had been registered in the United States, and it has continued to grow since then. But every day, we hear the same familiar stories. Someone on their motorcycle gets hurt by a car driver who wasn’t paying attention, or worse, a motorcyclist is killed by a collision with a larger vehicle. Wearing a helmet can certainly help improve one’s chances in a motorcycle accident, but the problem goes deeper. But to address it, we must first look into the various parts of the whole picture.
Rider Safety Is Important
As mentioned earlier, wearing a helmet can certainly help your odds of survival. According to the CDC, wearing a helmet can reduce your risk of head injury by as much as 69%, and the risk of death by 37%. Suffering a head injury like a skull fracture can not only lead to potentially lifelong injuries to the brain, but it can easily lead to death.
This issue is exacerbated by the various helmet laws that are in place, or in the case of Illinois, Iowa, and New Hampshire, there are no helmet laws. For other states, many only have helmet requirements for younger riders and/or passengers. As of 2019, only 19 states had universal motorcycle helmet laws that required helmets for everyone, no matter how young or old you were. The District of Columbia also has these universal helmet laws.
But despite the improved chances of survival that a helmet provides, in 2019 motorcycle deaths still accounted for 14% of deaths by motor vehicle accidents. Just as motorcycle registrations have virtually doubled over the last 20 years, so have deaths on the road for those riding those motorcycles.
This is because a rider making responsible decisions to wear a helmet is only part of what contributes to their actual safety. A helmet is a significant part of it, but it can’t make other drivers observe better road safety practices, and it can’t change a poorly designed road intersection. The driving environment as a whole will need to be improved to provide a truly safer place for motorcycle riders and others.
Policy Change and Road Improvements Can Be the Key
Presently, there are a number of initiatives and programs in the works to try improving the safety and survival chances of motorcycle riders all throughout the nation. The NHTSA is overseeing research into several sectors to help improve the situation:
- Better helmet design
- Advocating for better road designs
- Discourage the use of “novelty helmets” while riding (helmets that look great but don’t fit the design requirements for a safe motorcycle helmet)
Safety advocates for motorcycle riders have been encouraging for better motorcycle safety education while trying to increase awareness for all other vehicle operators to respectfully share the road with motorcycle riders. But it might require truly universal policy changes to reverse the trend that we’re seeing in the statistical increase in harm that motorcycle riders are now experiencing on the road.
Hurt in a Motorcycle Accident? Find the Right Motorcycle Accident Lawyer!
Compared to driving a car or a massive truck, getting into a crash accident on a motorcycle has a much higher chance of leading to potentially catastrophic injuries, and even death. But whether you’ve suffered awful injury or you’ve lost a loved one to another driver’s negligence on the road, a motorcycle accident lawyer can help you fight back for the pain and trauma that’s been inflicted upon you. With TopResearched, you can find the top motorcycle accident lawyers in your local area, so that you can get straight to starting your case and beginning your path to finding peace and recovery.
