Dangers of Motrocycle Helmets

Helmets Kill

Many common misconceptions are associated with motorcycles and the rules that bind them, but none is more highly debated than laws requiring helmets. Although common sense would suggest that wearing a helmet on a motorcycle is safer than not, there are a variety of ways that wearing a helmet can be more hazardous. Severe and permanent spinal injury caused by ineffective helmet regulations and standards is just one of the many reasons why it is safer to ride without a helmet. The rise in motorcycle deaths is not due to fewer states having helmet laws, but is credited to the increase of new and inexperienced riders. Awareness of the dangers of helmets coupled with stricter guidelines on who may receive a motorcycle license would greatly reduce motorcycle fatalities.

The agency that is responsible for establishing and enforcing standards for helmet manufacturing companies is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Their testing procedure has to do with the use of a head form without the neck or body being considered. The only concern in these tests is the protection of this head form without regard to the actual application of the helmet on a human head. Without the use of a full body dummy, the NHTSA has neglected the very real injuries that occur to the neck and spinal cord from wearing a helmet.

In the United States only four states are completely helmet law free, twenty six have age restrictions associated with there laws, and twenty states require helmets to be worn at all times regardless to age. Most would assume that the states with full helmet regulations would experience a significantly greater loss of life than those that do not require it. This assumption however would be wrong. The fatality rate has increased with repeal of helmet laws: It is actually lower for non-helmet law states than helmet law states. The injury and death rate in Colorado was never higher per accident than during the helmet law years. A study done by the federal government concurs. In 1992, more fatalities were attributed to riders wearing helmets than not. The same report showed that the lowest rate of fatalities per 100 accidents were in states without a mandatory helmet law.

The majority of the America is under the assumption that wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle will save you life in the event of a crash and at extreme speeds this holds true. However the limitations helmets put on the wearer far exceed the benefits. The NHTSA states that only 105 degrees of peripheral vision is needed on either side of the head which falls severely short of defensive driving needs of a motorcyclist. The method the NHTSA uses to gauge the minimum peripheral vision clearance takes the measurements from the center of the forehead which creates an unrealistic and inaccurate analysis. At one point in 1974 the California Highway patrol put together an amendment action against this standard and argued in favor of a greater than 120 degrees. A request which was denied by the NHTSA almost without consideration.

Nevertheless this is not the number one danger helmets present. The negative effects a helmet has on ones neck and spinal cord during a crash is vast. The inferior edge of the helmet, when visualized as part of the continuous circle completed by the nape strap and the chin strap, forms a loop that can be likened to a hangman's noose and can cause the same results. The overall shape of the helmet also contributes to spinal injuries. If the rider is not strong enough to control the weight of the helmet at high speeds, the head can be violently forced back severing the spinal cord and instantly killing the victim, or hyper extending the spinal cord. In either instance the chances of total paralysis and lingering death are certain in most instances.

The weight, three pounds minimum according to the NHTSA, and restricting nature of helmets can also cause accidents and deaths. In the warmer climates, the inability of the body to dissipate heat through the top of the head can cause faint or dizzy spells which can result in loss of control over a motorcycle. The effect of the weight a helmet has on the ability of a rider to maintain a high level of movement to insure their safety with regard to other traffic is immense. The state of California acknowledged this when they passed legislation to exempt government employees from helmet use in three-wheel vehicles.

Another crippling aspect of helmets is the limitation put on the riders hearing. Except in the half-helmets that NHTSA has demonstrated a dedication to eliminating from the market, the other helmet designs which do come down over the ears undeniably diminish a rider's hearing. This severe loss in an extremely important human sense has caused Canada to rejected so-called safety benefits of full-face helmets in most