New Study Finds Higher Fatality Rates In States Without Mandates
The helmet law debate continues to be heated, and a recent study by a University of Missouri professor is sure to add fuel to the fire. The study finds that the motorcyclist fatality rate has increased in states that repealed their universal helmet laws during the past decade.
Lilliard Richardson, professor in the MU Truman School of Public Affairs, and David J. Houston, associate professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, compared the changes in helmet laws across all 50 states and the District of Columbia from 1975 through 2004. In states where repeals of universal coverage were instituted, the fatality rate increased an average of 12.2 percent. Conversely, in states with universal helmet laws, the fatality rate was 11.1 percent lower than in states with no helmet mandates.
"Previous studies have been limited to certain states and fail to distinguish the states with partial coverage from those with no legislation," Richardson said. "Our focus was not limited to a single state or a single change. We looked at effects in states that went from universal helmet laws to partial laws and states that went from partial laws to no laws, and states which kept their laws in place. We highlighted repeals of laws in six states by using separate variables to distinguish the effects of universal and partial coverage. We included controls for temperature, precipitation, per capita alcohol consumption, income, age, population density and other traffic safety policies."
With information like this hitting the streets, it's no surprise to see action on the helmet law issue. Back in March, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters reaffirmed her desire to lobby states for mandatory helmet-use laws in testimony before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Transportation Subcommittee. Peters has urged Congress to allow states to divert federal money away from motorcycle safety training and awareness programs and instead push for mandated helmet use. "I support giving the information to states so that they can act on those laws," Peters testified. "And I certainly have made myself available to a number of states, and, in fact, have called governors when I see substantial increases in the number of motorcycle deaths in a state, especially a state that has repealed a helmet law."
Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations has expressed concern that diverting federal motorcycle safety funds to mandate helmet use could harm rider training courses and motorcycle awareness programs that are already under-funded in many states. Moreland believes Peters is willing to push for mandatory helmet laws at the expense of rider training and awareness programs designed to teach motorcycling skills that would prevent crashes from occurring in the first place.
"This latest testimony reaffirms our fears that the U.S. transportation secretary wants to lobby for mandatory helmet laws by diverting funding specifically set aside for motorcycle safety training and awareness to further her mandatory helmet-use agenda," says Moreland. "Helmet use is certainly one part of a comprehensive approach to motorcycle safety, but the use of motorcycle helmets is already advocated in existing motorcycle safety training programs," continued Moreland. "Congress decided to fund motorcycle safety training and awareness programs at the request of the motorcycling community. This effort by Secretary Peters to divert money away from those programs is an attempt to circumvent the wishes of Congress and those motorcyclists nationwide who wanted to specifically augment rider training and awareness programs," argued Moreland.
