Lid On or Lid Off?

By Mar Druschel

On January 1st, 1961, the first motorcycle helmet law was enacted in Victoria, Australia. Since then, multiple studies have been conducted in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, the United States and various other countries. The results of these studies have concluded that helmets effectively prevent or reduce severe head injuries when a rider is involved in an accident. However, there are some crashes that will be fatal no matter what gear the rider is wearing. In the US alone, about 5,000 motorcycle riders die in crashes every year and another 85,000 are injured. When analyzing the fatalities it was determined that 41 percent were not wearing helmets. Since it is estimated that helmets are approximately 37 percent effective in preventing fatal injuries, we can postulate that if 100 riders are killed when not wearing helmets, 37 could have survived if all 100 had been wearing helmets. So based on this simple math the pro-helmet crowd thinks that over 1/3 of motorcycle accident fatalities can be prevented just by implementing Universal Helmet Laws.

The anti-helmet faction dispute the fact that helmets increase motorcycle safety. They argue that helmets are unsafe if you're going faster that 15 or 18-MPH and that wearing a helmet increases the possibility of cervical spine injuries. They also tend to think that wearing a helmet actually helps cause accidents by impairing one's hearing and peripheral vision. Some activists claim that risks associated with riding a motorcycle is about the same as it is for a pedestrian which I think is pretty lame since no pedestrian is going to be travelling at high-speed when they bump into something.

In the US we have forty-nine states with mandatory seatbelt laws, all states except for New Hampshire. We have nineteen states (and Washington D.C.) with mandatory helmet laws, another 19 basically let adults choose to wear a helmet or not but require helmets for younger riders. Twelve states have no laws whatsoever. Personally, my preference would be that all fifty states implement a Universal Helmet Law. This isn't because I worry for their safety, it's because I think of the devastated spouses, children, and families left behind when the unexpected happens. So before you decide to ride without a lid, think about your friends and family. Nobody plans on being involved in an accident, but what if you are? Wouldn't you like to be one of the percent of motorcycle fatalities that didn't happen because you were wearing a helmet? Please choose wisely.

Mar Druschel invites you to browse our DOT certified helmets athttp://www.braincagehelmets.com/. The goal of Brain Cage Helmets is to to consistently bring you the latest in product technology and innovation. Be safe! Be smart! Be encaged!