Pennsylvania bikers deaths increasing since motorcycle helmet repeal
The Staff of Clutch and Chrome
June 13th 2008
According to a
study to be published in August, injuries and deaths from
motorcycle accidents have increased in Pennsylvania during
the two years following the repeal of its helmet law.
According to
a University of Pittsburgh study to be published in the
August issue of the American Journal of Public Health there
was 32 percent increase in head injury deaths and a 42
percent increase in head injury-related hospitalizations,
even after accounting for increases in motorcycle
registrations that occurred during this period.
Authors of
the study point to concerns about motorcyclists' safety and
the impact of this trend on health care costs.
Pennsylvania repealed its universal motorcycle helmet law in
2003. Under the current law, only motorcyclists under 21 and
riders with less than two years experience who have not
taken a
safety course are required to wear helmets.
Study authors analyzed data from Pennsylvania's departments
of Health and Transportation during the years 2001-2002 and
2004-2005. They found helmet use by motorcyclists involved
in reported crashes decreased from 82 percent to 58 percent
in the two years after repeal. The authors also looked at
data from head injury and non-head injury deaths to
determine specifically how many deaths were caused by not
wearing helmets. They found the registration-adjusted head
injury death rate increased by 32 percent, whereas the
non-head injury death rate did not change.
The study looked at hospitalizations per 10,000
registrations from motorcycle crashes by examining discharge
data compiled from all acute care hospitals in the state.
They found an increase of 42 percent in the head injury
hospitalization rate and a 2 percent increase in the
non-head injury hospitalization rate. The number of
head-injured, hospitalized motorcyclists requiring further
care at facilities specializing in rehabilitation and
long-term care increased 87 percent after the repeal, and
increased 16 percent for non-head injured motorcyclists.
Total acute care hospital charges stemming from
motorcycle-related head injuries increased 132 percent in
the two years following repeal compared to 69 percent for
non-head injuries.
"Our findings strengthen the argument for more comprehensive
helmet laws that help protect riders and lower the cost of
health care," said Hank Weiss, Ph.D., M.P.H., study
co-author and associate professor, Department of
Neurological Surgery, Center for Injury Research and
Control, University of Pittsburgh. "Serious head injuries,
causing anything from short-term memory loss, inability to
concentrate to coma and death, can severely impact quality
of life and affect not just those injured, but their
families as well. Until a universal [motorcycle] helmet law is
reinstated, Pennsylvania needs effective voluntary
strategies to increase helmet use." |
