Personal Injury Law

Motorcycle Accidents and Helmet Laws

By Beth Janicek

Just this morning while looking through the news, I found three articles relating to motorcycle accident deaths in central Texas. The first was a U.S. Army soldier, Luke D. Yustin, 25, from Killeen, Texas who died on Friday in a motorcycle crash in Gillespie County. In the second accident, Errin Johnson, 34, was killed, and her husband, Gerald Johnson, 36, a Bandera County deputy, was seriously injured when their motorcycle was struck from behind by a truck over the weekend. The third motorcycle accident resulting in a fatality this weekend occurred in San Antonio, when Jeffrey McCarty, 47, crashed his motorcycle into an ambulance.

These accidents were extremely unfortunate events that regrettably took the lives of three people. Reading these articles made me wonder whether or not these people were wearing helmets, and what the statistics are regarding motorcycle accidents and the use of helmets.

While researching motorcycle accidents and helmet laws I found that the federal government estimates that per mile traveled, the number of deaths on motorcycles in 2006 was about 35 times the number in cars. In fact, the number of motorcyclist deaths has been rising in recent years, and in 2007, there were more deaths in motorcycle accidents than in any year since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began collecting fatal crash data.

Helmets can decrease the severity of head injuries, the likelihood of death, and the overall cost of medical care. NHTSA has estimated that helmets can reduce the likelihood of a fatal crash by 37%. It is important to know what the helmet laws are in your state if you are considering riding a motorcycle. If your state has a universal helmet law, than a helmet is required for all riders. Partial helmet laws usually only require people under the age of 18 to wear a helmet. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has provided an interactive map detailing each state's helmet laws.

Full post as published by San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyer on September 29, 2009 (boomark / email).