Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Motorcycle Helmet Use in 2004 -- Overall Results
By U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
May 2, 2005, 06:58





In June 2004, 58 percent of motorcyclists in the U.S. used helmets, unchanged from the usage rate two years ago.

This result is from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), which provides the only probability based observed data on helmet use in the United States. The NOPUS is conducted by the National Center forStatistics and Analysis in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The 2004 survey also found the following:

The use of helmets that are not compliant with Federal safety regulations declined from 14 percent in 2002 to 11 percent in 2004. Such helmets include novelty helmets and helmets with an insufficient coverage area.
Use rates for both helmets that do and do not comply with Federal safety regulations are statistically lower in States that do not require helmet use, compared to States that require use. In 2004, 71 percent ofmotorcyclists in States requiring helmet use wore compliant helmets and 16 percent wore noncompliant helmets. In States with no helmet law, 48 percent used compliant and 6 percent used noncompliant helments.

Read the whole report:

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30 ... 809867.pdf

It's quite shocking that such a low overall percentage (58%) wore helemts at all - not much more than half? I'm all for free choice, but surely everyone who has a brain and wishes to keep it should choose to wear a lid.

(and an officially approved one, at that)

It's crazy Keyoke, you'd think more people would want to protect their heads. the us is almost divided in half of no helmet vs. helmet. that's kind of worrisome, i think.

-emmz

I live in California (Helmet law in force) it is strange going to other states and seeing people not wearing helmets. I am a very strong advocate of having the choice to wear a helmet. I myself don't even drive across the parking lot without a helmet, but you should be able to choose.

I'm both ways on helmet laws, I guess.

I don't neccessarily think that you should force a person to wear a helmet to protect him from another person, and you can come up with a hundred different analogies for why. But, on the other hand, Motorcycle accidents are a clear and present danger, and the safety factor of a helmet is quite powerful.

I do promote safe helmet use, regardless of whether it's required in your area, but I'm still undecided on actually making it a firm law. Though, I suppose if wearing a seatbelt is the law now, helmets might as well (and are, here) be too.