Motorcyclist Dies in Accident While Protesting Helmet Law

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Jason Schultz

 

The ultimate tragic irony. It’s a motorcycle accident story that garnered plenty of attention a few weeks ago. A motorcyclist in New York, who was participating in a protest against the state's mandatory helmet laws for motorcyclists, died in an accident after he suffered serious head injuries.

The fifty-five-year-old motorcyclist was protesting with 550 other motorcyclists when his motorcycle fishtailed, throwing him off. He sustained fatal head injuries. According to the physicians who attended to him, he would likely have survived the accident if he had been wearing a helmet.

Much has been made about the irony of the situation - that a man protesting a motorcycle helmet law died from injuries that could have been prevented had he been wearing a helmet. However, in all the commotion, one fact has been ignored. Every day, across the country, several motorcyclists are killed in accidents even when they're wearing helmets. 

Determining the efficacy of motorcycle helmets in preventing fatal injuries can be tricky. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration believes that wearing a motorcycle helmet can substantially reduce your chances of being fatally injured in an accident. In fact, according to agency estimates, in 2008, motorcycle helmet use could have saved as many as 1,829 lives in accidents. The agency also believes that in that same year, more than 800 people could have been saved if there had been mandatory motorcycle helmets laws across the country. However, every year, hundreds of motorcyclists are killed in accidents even though they were properly wearing a helmet.

As an Atlanta motorcycle accident lawyer, I believe that the focus tends to lean overwhelmingly toward the role of a motorcyclist in keeping himself safe by wearing a helmet, as opposed to the responsibility of motorists to look out for motorcyclists. Most accidents that I come across involve motorists who fail to slow down for motorcyclists, or fail to lookout for them. Many of these involve serious life altering injuries in which a helmet would have made little difference.

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NHTSA Study Probes Link Between Motorcycle Accidents and Traumatic Brain Injury

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Jason Schultz

 

I recently came across this new report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration titled Motorcycle Helmet Use and Head and Facial Injuries. The study was conducted by the agency to determine the relationship between the use of helmets by motorcyclists and the kind of accident outcomes, including type of injuries, hospital costs etc. 

 

The study used data drawn from 18 states, and analyzed 104,472 motorcyclists who were involved in accidents in these states between 2003 and 2005. Of these motorcyclists, 57 percent were wearing helmets at the time of the accident, while 43 percent were non-helmeted.  A few key points emerged from the study.

 

  • In both the helmeted and non-helmeted group, 40 percent of motorcyclists either received injuries that were serious enough to require treatment in the hospital, or died in the accident.
  • However, the percentage of unhelmeted motorists who sustained moderate to severe head/facial injuries was 6.6 percent, compared to 5.1 percent of motorcyclists who were not wearing helmets at the time of the crash.
  • 15 percent of helmeted motorcyclists suffered Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) compared to 21 percent of unhelmeted motorcyclists.
  • Approximately 9 percent of unhelmeted motorcyclists sustained minor to moderate TBI, compared to 7 percent of helmeted motorcyclists.
  • More than 7 percent of motorcyclists who were not wearing helmets sustained severe TBI, compared to 4.7 percent of helmeted motorcyclists.

The study also measured the average hospital charges for motorcyclists who survived an accident. Not surprisingly, hospital charges were 13 times higher in case of motorcyclists who sustained a TBI. In cold hard numbers, that is an average charge of $31,979 for patients with TBI vs. $2,461 for those who didn’t sustain TBI.

 

It is unlikely that a NHTSA study will do much to change riding behavior in those who do not wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle. For such people, I would recommend a look at these websites to understand how Traumatic Brain Injury can impact your life, and the high chances of sustaining one if do not wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle.

 

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

TBI Resource Guide

American Occupational Therapy Association

 

Jason Schultz is an Atlanta motorcycle accident lawyer, helping injured victims of motorcycle accidents in Atlanta recover the compensation they deserve.

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