4 Statistics That Prove the Importance of Motorcycle Helmets

Accidents on the road are a common, primarily unpredictable phenomenon. For motorcycling, which has a high risk of crashes. Riders should always consider protecting themselves from injuries and even death. One safety measure to ensure is wearing a motorcycle helmet.

Enough research has shown that helmets save lives. There are more casualties involving motorcyclists who do not wear helmets than those who do. “Because motorcyclists are only protected by their helmets and clothing, seemingly minor accidents can cause significant injuries,” says DC Law.

Certain statistical discoveries have highlighted the importance of helmets, and some of them include:

Helmets Save Nearly 2,000 Lives Per Year

These insights demonstrate why you ought to keep your helmet on while riding your motorcycle on the road. Think of it like a shield in fight, and it most literally is.

Look at this stat from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — 1,859 Americans in 2016 survived motorcycle crashes just because they wore their helmets – 1,859 people. Is that proof or just coincidence?

Well, in 2017, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recorded similar figures. Helmets saved the lives of 1,870 people. Seven hundred fifty more lives would have been saved across the stay if all the motorcyclists had worn helmets.

More Helmet Use Could Prevent Additional Deaths Every Year

Considering the previous statistics, we can conclude that more motorcyclist deaths could have been avoided if they had worn helmets.

According to the CDC, in 2016, 802 more motorcyclists wouldn’t have died if they had helmets on. Likewise, 750 more lives would have been saved in 2017 if all the motorcyclists had worn helmets. From 2002 to 2017, more than 25,000 lives have been saved by wearing motorcycle helmets, according to NHTSA estimates.

Way back in 2012, when Michigan repealed its all-rider law, there were consequences. Agreeing to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, twenty-six motorcycle deaths could have been prevented with adequate helmet laws.

People need to also remember that passengers are also endangered. They need to wear helmets which can help them survive crashes. Helmets for passengers are 41 percent better at preventing fatal injuries (37 percent for operators).

Helmets Also Prevent Fatal Injuries

Death is not the only risk while riding a motorcycle without a helmet. Motorcyclists who do not wear helmets are three times more likely to sustain traumatic brain injuries than helmeted motorcyclists. Reports show that wearing helmets decreases the risk of head injury in a crash by 69 percent.

According to researchers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, unhelmeted riders in the state suffered cervical spine injuries twice as often as helmeted riders. The study was done on motorcycle crash victims in Wisconsin from 2010-2015.

Helmetless Riders Make Up Nearly Half of Motorcycle Deaths

According to a United States National Library of Medicine study, 41% of motorcyclist deaths involved helmetless riders. Additionally, in 2016, over 40% of motorcyclists who died were not wearing a helmet. All of this shows just how much can be avoided by having a helmet on while riding a motorcycle.

Conclusion

The statistics have shown that cyclists who wear helmets are far safer than those who do not. In fact, states with strong helmet laws record lower death rates from head injuries than states without helmet laws. Some cyclists may feel wearing a helmet might be a burden. But the danger of not wearing one might be worth the supposed distress.

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