Make Motorcycle Helmets Mandatory, Says IIHS. A Neurologist Agrees

In 2021 and 2022, 6,000 motorcyclists were killed on American highways, according to a new report by the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety.

That's 6,000 too many, of course. Those are sons, daughters, grandparents, partners, breadwinners, law enforcement and so on. It's my childhood buddy, Dave Schwartz, who died last year.

Motorcycling is dangerous and that number will never be zero. But there is one thing that could bring the death toll down by 10% or around 600 humans, says the Institute, and that's to make wearing a helmet mandatory.

Currently, only 17 states and the District of Columbia have all-rider helmet laws in place.

But it's an uphill battle. People don't like to wear the damned things, and they most definitely don't like to be told they have to wear them. I sure don't.

But bringing it into the personal, I wear a helmet on a motorcycle whether the state requires it or not. Why? One, because I'm a professional rider, and pros wear helmets. I've also been fortunate enough to have spent track time with a fair share of pros at Limerock either interviewing them, or, once, blasting around the track on the back of a champ's Ducati, where we leaned over at 135 MPH and the pavement was about 10 inches from my schnozzola.

You want that helmet, boss. You won't see Casey Stoner on a track without his head protection.

Or how about this -

I was on a road trip with a bunch of stinky Harley riders heading from New Orleans to Memphis. A guy up front left the road on his Fat Boy at about 40 MPH after taking a curve a little too fast.

We all watched him try to stay upright for 20 feet in wet grass, his back tire wobbling left, right, left, right. It was pretty terrifying. There was nothing anyone could do. Possible death or injury seemed certain either way. Seconds ticked by.

He finally lost control, got tossed off and the bike did two somersaults before it crashed. I've never witnessed a bike crash, let alone an 800-pound Harley doing flips like that.

The bike was toast, but all our boy got was a tiny scrape on his wrist and the shakes for about 30 minutes afterward as we all took a break to collect ourselves and talk about how lucky he was while we waited for the truck with a replacement Harley to arrive. He had the presence of mind to roll like a bowling ball when he landed, he said. He was also wearing full leathers. We all were.

I think if you asked this man if people should wear helmets while riding, you could guess the answer.

Finally, listen to Dr. Sheri Friedman, head neurologist at a busy Colorado hospital, who has been seeing motorcycle injuries for 25 years.

Reached by phone for this , Dr. Friedman said "When you see motorcyclists in the ICU who weren't wearing helmets, it's devastating. In the spring and all the way up to the end of fall, we see caved-in skulls and fractures."

You don't even have to be going that fast, she says. "You end up with a fracture and it's just horrible. Imagine walking up to a kid and seeing their skull caved in and you can see the brain and you'll understand what we deal with and why almost 100% of us are in favor of helmet laws. It's not just the initial impact that causes the damage, either. The brain swells and the swelling causes more damage."

What kind of damage?

"Paralysis, not being able to speak, not having any memory are all typical of the injuries we see with motorcyclists who weren't wearing helmets," Dr. Friedman said. "Those things you really want in life, well, you just can't do them anymore. Even if you're going to the grocery store, you should wear a helmet. We had a guy who was on a scooter in a parking lot, parked. Someone hit him, knocked him off his scooter, he hit his head and he died."

"Wearing a helmet is one of the biggest things riders can do to protect themselves from death and traumatic brain injury," said Eric Teoh, IIHS director of statistical services and the author of the paper. "We understand that requiring helmets for all riders everywhere would be unpopular with some motorcyclists, but this could save hundreds of lives each year. Those aren't just numbers. They're friends, parents and children."

Key takeaways from the IIHS report

*More than 20,000 motorcyclists who died in crashes in the U.S. since the mid-1970s would have survived if stronger helmet laws had been in place. The number represents 11% of all rider fatalities over those years.

*Currently, only 17 states and the District of Columbia have all-rider helmet laws in place. Meanwhile record numbers of motorcyclists — more than 6,000 each year — were killed in 2021 and 2022.

*By state, the largest number of lives lost — 2,536 — was in California, partly due to the fact that its fair weather lets people drive all-year-round.

*Other states with high numbers of additional deaths due to lax laws include Texas (2,490), Florida (1,786), Illinois (1,738), Ohio (1,651), Indiana (1,151) and South Carolina (1,000), all of which still allow unhelmeted riding.

"Requiring all riders to wear helmets is a commonsense rule not that different from requiring people in cars to buckle up," said IIHS President David Harkey. "We have an obligation to protect everyone on our roadways through smart policy."

Read the full report here.

Ride safe JM