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New Estimates on Motorcycle Helmet Effectiveness
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has revised its estimate of the effectiveness of motorcycle helmets in preventing fatalities from 29% to 37%. This means that during the ten year period 1993-2002, based on data from the national Fatal Analysis Reporting System, 7,808 lives would have been saved by helmets compared to 5,430 lives saved using the old 29% measure.
According to NHTSA, changes in helmet design and manufacture of motorcycle helmets as well as the use of newer materials such as Kevlar, polypropylene and carbon fiber in the manufacture of helmet shells have contributed to this improvement of helmet effectiveness.
While the effectiveness of helmets has improved, NHTSA notes that the proportion of motorcycle riders who actually use them has declined. According to a 2002 national study, only 58% of motorcyclists wear helmets when they ride. This is a sharp drop from the 71% observed usage rate in 2000. With the repeal or modifications in helmet laws in many states, the percentage of non-users and the number of fatalities has grown. In 2002, motorcycle crashes claimed 3,244 lives and injured 65,000 motorcyclists.
The NHTSA calculation of motorcycle helmet effectiveness is based on a matched paired comparison of crashes involving one or more motorcycles each of which carried one rider and one passenger and in which there was a fatality. This comparison methodology has been used in previous studies on the effect on vehicle mass on driver fatalities and on seat belts and restraint system effectiveness (1-4). Comparing fatality data collected during the period 1982 - 1987 with data collected from 1993 - 2003, the effectiveness of helmets in preventing fatalities increased. These results are similar to real world studies of helmet effectiveness (5, 6).
NHTSA points out the “inescapable irony” in these statistics. On one hand, crash experience, empirical studies, and testing suggest the protective value of helmets is increasing. Yet on the other hand, based on national changes in helmet wearing and state changes in existing laws requiring helmets, usage rates are falling as more riders chose not to wear helmets.
Duetermann W. Motorcycle Helmet Effectiveness Revisited. U.S. Department of Transportation, NHTSA Technical Report DOT HS 809 715. March 2004.
REFERENCES
1. Evans L. Driver Fatalities vs. Car mass Using a New Exposure Approach: Accident Analysis and Prevention: U.S. Deoartment of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; 1984.
2. Evans L, Frick M. Helmet Effectiveness in Preventing Motorcycle Driver and Passenger Fatalities: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Administration; 1988.
3. Kahane C. An Evaluation of Child Passenger Safety: The Effectiveness and Benefits of Safety Belts: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; February, 1986.
4. Wilson DC. The Effectiveness of Motorcycle Helmets in Preventing Fatalities: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; March, 1989.
5. Braddock M, Schwartz R, Lapidus G, Banco L, Jacobs L. A population-based study of motorcycle injury and costs. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 1992;21(3):273-278.
6. Kelly P, Sanson T, Strange G, Orsay E. A prospective study of the impact of helmet usage on motorcycle trauma. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 1991;20(8):852-856.
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