STATEMENT OF
Judith Lee Stone, President
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates)
On
NTSB Motorcycle Safety Recommendations

Today's recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) regarding motorcyclists shows that Congress and state legislatures have a long way to go in protecting both motorcycle riders and the rest of the motoring public. In 2006, 4,810 motorcycle riders were killed, a 5% increase from 2005 and a 127% increase from 1997. Motorcycle fatalities now account for over 10% of all annual fatalities, even though motorcycles make up less that 2% of all registered vehicles and only 0.4% of all vehicle miles traveled.

The single most effective measure to reduce the number of motorcycle fatalities is the use of a helmet. In states with all-rider helmet laws, helmet use is nearly 100%. While helmets do not prevent crashes from occurring, they prevent head and brain injuries significantly during crashes. Today, only 20 states and DC require all motorcycle riders to wear a helmet. 26 states have laws that cover only some riders (i.e., up to age 18 or 21). These age-specific laws are nearly impossible for police officers to enforce and result in much lower helmet use. Advocates is pleased that the NTSB has officially supports state enactment of all-rider motorcycle helmet laws.

Critics of helmet laws cite motorcycle education programs as the answer. However, there is no scientific evidence that motorcycle rider training reduces crash risk and is an adequate substitute for an all-rider helmet law. A review conducted in 1996 by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation concluded that there is "no compelling evidence that rider training is associated with reductions in collisions." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also support this position. If elimination of risk exposure is not possible, then risk management, in the form of a universal helmet law, is the next best option.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), almost 50 percent of motorcycle crash victims have no private health insurance so taxpayers often pay their medical bills. As states have repealed their helmet laws, helmet use has declined from 71 percent to 58 percent nationally, with deaths and traumatic brain injuries on the rise. In 1992, California's all-rider law went into effect resulting in a 40 percent drop in its Medicaid costs and total hospital charges for treatment of motorcycle riders. According to NHTSA, an estimated $13.2 billion was saved from 1984 to 1999 because of motorcycle helmet use. An additional $11.1 billion could have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn helmets.

We are encouraged by NTSB's announced support for effective state legislative solutions - adoption of all-rider helmet laws in all states without them. We know what works. What's missing is the political will and leadership to make it happen.

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Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is an alliance of consumer, health and safety groups and insurance companies and agents working together to make America's roads safer. For more information, please visit www.saferoads.org.